By Eva Roytburg,Jim Edwards
Publication Date: 2026-03-10 16:07:00
When Steve Sinofsky abruptly left Microsoft in November of 2012, the departure shocked Silicon Valley. A protégé of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates who had joined the company out of grad school, Sinofsky oversaw the operating system powering over 90% of the world’s computers as president of Windows. He was widely considered the heir apparent to CEO Steve Ballmer.
Microsoft’s share price fell nearly 3% the day after the announcement, wiping billions from the company’s market value. When the resignation agreement was finally disclosed in SEC filings months later, analysts pored over the details.
One commentator noted that a “non-disparagement” provision made it appear as if Sinofsky had been made to take an “oath of silence.”
According to the Epstein documents recently released by the Department of Justice, on April 6, 2013, three months before the public filing, Epstein emailed Sinofsky a copy of Sinofsky’s own “Resignation Agreement,” asking for comments….
