Kuhn Foundation

The Kuhn Foundation (EIN 33-0783933) has $9-12M in assets as a private operating foundation - indicating it is a substantial entity well beyond Epstein's $650K contribution. The foundation was established in 1999 (matching Kuhn's statement). It is classified as NTEE A99 (Arts). It also produces 'Closer To Truth' PBS series, which has aired since 2000. The Epstein funding was for specific new series ('Radical Breakthroughs', 'Science of Sleep and Dreams'), not general operating support.

The Kuhn Foundation (EIN 33-0783933) is a private operating foundation at 723 Euclid St Unit B, Santa Monica CA 90402, ruling date 1999-04-29. Officers (all /bin/zsh compensation): Dr Robert Kuhn (President, 25hrs/wk), Dora Kuhn (VP), Aaron Kuhn (VP, 245 W 107th St Apt 4B NYC 10024), Adam Kuhn (CFO), Daniella Kuhn (Secretary). Total assets end-2018: $12,075,165 at Morgan Stanley SmithBarney. Also holds $66,895 in Sealantis Ltd (Israeli biotech). Accountant: William H Hranchak, Temo Arjani LLP, 301 E Colorado Blvd Ste 426, Pasadena CA 91101.

ProPublica 990 confirms The Kuhn Foundation (EIN 33-0783933) is a substantial private operating foundation with $9-12M in assets (2011-2023), annual expenses of $1-2.5M. The foundation makes ZERO outgoing grants - it operates programs directly (private operating foundation status). It filed 990-PF forms annually. The IRS 990 XML confirms Gratitude America Ltd (EIN 66-0789697) granted $500,000 to the Kuhn Foundation in tax year 2018. The $150K in 2017 may not appear in Schedule I because Gratitude America's 2017 filing is not yet ingested.

On Feb 15, 2017, Epstein asked Kuhn 'is it a charity that received the funding?' establishing the initial financial due diligence. Kuhn responded with the IRS tax-exempt determination letter: '501(c)(3) - private operating foundation - The Kuhn Foundation, which I set up in 1999 to support Closer To Truth. IRS letter attached.' This exchange occurred BEFORE the first Gratitude America wire ($150K on 8/1/2017), showing the foundation as fiscal conduit was deliberately established. The Kuhn Foundation 990-PF consistently shows $0 officer compensation and sole program being CTT production, confirming it exists primarily as a pass-through for TV production funding.

Epstein asked Kuhn 'details of where to wire money?' on Jul 31, 2017 (EFTA02641395), in response to a Kuhn email about China 'Belt and Road.' The next day (Aug 1, 2017), Kuhn sent formal wiring instructions for the Kuhn Foundation sub-account. The $150K from Gratitude America was wired on 8/1/2017. This suggests the initial CTT funding may have been triggered by or connected to the Belt and Road discussion.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn created a dedicated sub-account 'Kuhn Foundation CTT JE - Radical Breakthroughs' under his 501(c)(3) private operating foundation (EIN 33-0783933, est. 1999) to receive Epstein funding. Wiring instructions sent Aug 1, 2017. The sub-account was specifically 'dedicated to our project, to facilitate monitoring use of funds.'

In 2018, the Kuhn Foundation received $1,216,825 in contributions (line 1), including $500,000 from Gratitude America Ltd (confirmed via IRS 990 XML Schedule I). The foundation spent $1,339,333 on its sole program: Closer To Truth (CTT) television production. Only external grant was $17,500 to KOCE-TV Foundation (PBS station, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd No 1070, Los Angeles CA 90067). The $1.2M+ in contributions versus the normal $0 contribution years (2011-2013 showed $233K-$793K revenue, mostly investment) indicates the Epstein money significantly augmented the foundation's operating budget.

Epstein personally directed Richard Kahn to wire $600K from Gratitude America to Kuhn Foundation on Jun 14, 2018, writing 'robert kuhn we need to send 600k from foundation. remind me torow.' Kahn confirmed $150K had already been sent on 8/1/2017 from Gratitude. Epstein then revised the amount downward to $500K the same day (Jun 15, 2018), writing 'send 500k today.' Total confirmed: $650K ($150K + $500K).

Documented Epstein-Kuhn meeting timeline: Oct 4, 2016 (same day as Leon Black TBD, Vitaly Churkin TBD, Peter Thiel TBD); Oct 7, 2016; Nov 9, 2016 (Kuhn emails from Beijing: 'You are a prophet' re Trump win, 'Quite extraordinary'); Jan 22, 2017 (Kuhn arrives NY from DC inauguration); Feb 9, 2017; Jun 15, 2017 (breakfast 9am); Jul-Aug 2017 (multiple); Nov 29, 2017 (same day as Gromov, Chopra); Jan 5, 2018; Dec 1, 2018 (noon - same day as Gromov 10am, Lozze 12:30, Ruemmler 2pm, Axel 5pm); Jan 9, 2019; Apr 6, 2019 (with Chaitin + Getzels); May-Jun 2019 (Boston filming with Nowak, then NY). At least 20+ documented meetings Oct 2016-Jun 2019.

Robert Kuhn described the Kuhn Foundation as: '501(c)(3) - private operating foundation - The Kuhn Foundation, which I set up in 1999 to support Closer To Truth. IRS letter attached.' Foundation address: 723 Euclid St Apt B, Santa Monica CA 90402 (ProPublica) / 357 Waverly Dr, Pasadena CA 91105 (990 filing). Assets: $9-12M (2011-2023). Revenue $550K-2.4M annually. NTEE code A99 (Arts/Culture). Phone: (818) 519-7586.

Epstein funded 'Closer To Truth - Radical Breakthroughs' TV series: 13-episode season on PBS stations exploring math, science, consciousness. Kuhn proposed initial 'Science of Sleep and Dreams' series (Jan 2017) then pivoted to 'Radical Breakthroughs' (late 2017). Episodes covered: mathematical truth, power laws, plant biology, strong emergence, deception in biology, evolution, consciousness (Tononi's IIT), dreams. Epstein actively shaped content: 'cut 11 12 and 13. add, antibiotics and their cognitive impacts.' Gromov added Dec 2017.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a US-China intermediary with extraordinary access to Chinese leadership. Biography in Epstein files identifies him as: advisor to Chinese government for 30+ years, author of Jiang Zemin biography (China's best-selling book 2005), wrote introduction for CPC book series, host of 'Closer to China with R.L. Kuhn' on CGTN (Chinese state TV), senior commentator on CGTN. Described as 'investment banker, business consultant, brain scientist and philosopher.' Spoke at launch of Xi Jinping's 'Governance of China,' introduced Xi as 'core' of CPC to foreign audiences. Interviewed 24 times on CNN/BBC for 19th CPC Congress alone.

CTT Radical Breakthroughs production team: Robert Lawrence Kuhn (host/writer), Peter Getzels (producer/director). Key scientists interviewed or planned: Misha Gromov (mathematician), Giulio Tononi (consciousness/IIT), Gregory Chaitin (algorithmic information theory), Paul Davies (physicist), VS Ramachandran (neuroscientist), Danny Chamovitz (plant biology, Ben Gurion Univ president), Martin Nowak (Harvard evolutionary dynamics - Epstein's program), Patrick McNamara (Boston Univ sleep researcher). Several of these are also independently connected to Epstein.

SYNTHESIS: Robert Lawrence Kuhn served dual roles for Epstein: (1) intellectual legitimacy via PBS science programming (Closer to Truth / Radical Breakthroughs), and (2) real-time geopolitical intelligence channel to Chinese and potentially Saudi leadership. The $650K from Gratitude America (Leon Black money) funded a dedicated 'CTT JE - Radical Breakthroughs' sub-account. Kuhn actively managed Epstein's reputational risk, keeping JEVIF sponsorship secret from PBS and assessing which scientists were 'safe' to meet. 15+ meetings Oct 2016-Jun 2019, continuing 23 days before arrest. Kuhn also served as scientist broker, connecting Epstein to Gromov, Chaitin, Axel, Tononi. The Belt and Road timing of the first $150K payment, Kuhn's China Reform Friendship Medal from Xi Jinping (2018), and absence of FARA registration despite CGTN work raise intelligence questions. Oct 4, 2016 schedule places Kuhn alongside Leon Black, Vitaly Churkin (Russian UN Ambassador), and Peter Thiel.

Kuhn's Mar 2019 email reveals JEVIF (Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation) was the funding source, not just Gratitude America. Kuhn wrote about optimizing 'for JEVI Foundation as well as CTT.' This confirms JEVIF underwrote the series. Separately, Epstein told Gretchen Buhlig (Jan 7, 2019): 'the formal name is jevi the name on the check was enhanced foundation.' JEVIF and Enhanced Education Foundation appear to be overlapping or co-named entities in Epstein's USVI nonprofit architecture.

Critical Mar 27-28, 2019 email thread reveals Kuhn's deliberate secrecy strategy for Epstein's sponsorship of CTT Radical Breakthroughs. Kuhn wrote: 'My original thinking was to keep your/JEVIF underwriting/sponsor relatively secret until the shows are broadcast - then, after all see our CTT Breakthroughs full season of 13 episodes... we will be in a strong position to go public and be proud.' He warned: 'I worry that someone might tell their girlfriend or cousin, who could try to make a problem with PBS.' He advised Epstein to meet Chaitin one-on-one but NOT Chamovitz because 'his new position as president of Ben Gurion University might make him nervous.'

Epstein's response to Kuhn demonstrates personal engagement with science content beyond mere patronage. Epstein wrote: 'do we dream all day, can we use music as an insight into the brain that produced it, mathematics relies on truth, biology relies on deception, probability and why it is not intuitive, do we talk to ourselves using an encrypted signal.' He also rejected topics: 'did not like multi verse and sensience. seems more blahblah.' This is consistent with Epstein's pattern of active intellectual engagement with funded scientists.

The Kuhn-Epstein relationship has a dual-track nature: (1) Science/media track: CTT Radical Breakthroughs PBS series funded via Gratitude America/JEVIF, and (2) China/geopolitics track: Kuhn is one of the most connected Americans to Chinese leadership, hosted shows on Chinese state TV (CGTN), and sent Epstein regular China analysis (Belt and Road, Trump-China trade, Xi power consolidation, North Korea). Kuhn congratulated Epstein on his Trump election bet: 'I forgot to congratulate you on winning your l000000ng-odds bet on Trump with Woody. Everyone I know, including me, would have bet against you. Quite extraordinary.' This dual access - world-class scientists AND Chinese leadership - made Kuhn uniquely valuable to Epstein.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn confirmed The Kuhn Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation (EIN 33-0783933) he set up in 1999 to support his PBS science series 'Closer To Truth'. Kuhn opened a dedicated sub-account 'Kuhn Foundation CTT JE - Radical Breakthroughs' to receive and track Epstein funding.

The Kuhn Foundation (EIN 33-0783933) is registered at 723 Euclid St Apt B, Santa Monica CA 90402. ProPublica shows it as a 501(c)(3), NTEE code A99 (Arts), ruling date April 1999. Assets ranged from $9.3M to $12M (2011-2023). Annual expenses $1-2.4M. This is distinct from the Pasadena address (357 Waverly Dr) referenced in Gratitude America filings - the Pasadena address may be Kuhn's personal residence used for grant correspondence.