Overview
- In a November 2012 message to Steve Ballmer and Kevin Turner, Sinofsky warned Surface RT was about to “catastrophically fail,” with sales around one-tenth of even the lowest projections.
- He later forwarded that confidential thread to Jeffrey Epstein and sought guidance on exit terms, public positioning, and legal leverage as he left Microsoft.
- Epstein advised holding out for $20 million; Sinofsky ultimately received roughly $14 million in stock, after which Epstein replied, “You’re welcome :).”
- The emails detail concerns over restrictive non-competes and Microsoft’s history of suing ex-employees, and show Epstein offering a $1 million service to manage PR and internal politics.
- The documents capture senior leaders’ disagreement over how to respond to weak Surface RT sales, which preceded a roughly $900 million inventory write-down in 2013, and reporting notes no criminal conduct is alleged.