Jeffrey Epstein
495ms
Jeffrey Edward Epstein, a name that echoes with scandal and darkness, was an American financier whose life ended abruptly in August of 2019. Born in New York City, his early career began as a teacher, a path that would starkly contrast with the allegations that would define his later years. After leaving teaching, Epstein ventured into the world of finance, building a network and a reputation that afforded him access to elite circles.
However, this success was overshadowed by a disturbing pattern of abuse. In 2005, an investigation was launched in Palm Beach, Florida, following a parent's report of sexual abuse involving her 14-year-old daughter. This opened the door to a federal inquiry that identified dozens of young girls, some as young as 14, who were allegedly victimized by Epstein and his associates. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to charges related to child prostitution, a plea deal that remains controversial to this day, resulting in a sentence of just over a year in custody, with extensive work release privileges.
His legal troubles resurfaced in July 2019 when he was arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. He died in his jail cell shortly after, with the official cause of death ruled a suicide by hanging. Yet, this conclusion has been met with significant public skepticism and a proliferation of conspiracy theories, fueled by disputed rulings and the release of incomplete and potentially altered evidence.
Epstein's decades-long association with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy for her role in procuring girls for him, highlights the intricate network of his activities. His friendships with prominent figures, including royalty and political leaders, have drawn considerable controversy, casting a long shadow over his life and legacy.
Born in Brooklyn in 1953, Jeffrey Edward Epstein was the elder of two siblings. His parents, Pauline and Seymour Epstein, were Jewish and described by neighbors as gentle people. Young Jeffrey, nicknamed "Bear" by his parents, was known for his intelligence, excelling in math, and was considered "sweet and generous," though also "quiet and nerdy." He even attended the National Music Camp, showcasing a talent for the piano. He graduated from Lafayette High School at 16, having skipped two grades, and pursued higher education in mathematics and mathematical physiology before leaving without a degree.
Epstein's professional journey began in 1974 as a teacher at the Dalton School. However, allegations of inappropriate behavior towards underage female students surfaced, leading to his dismissal in 1976. It was then that he transitioned into the banking and finance sector. He joined Bear Stearns, quickly rising through the ranks, advising wealthy clients and becoming a limited partner. Despite leaving Bear Stearns in 1981 due to a "Reg D violation," he maintained connections with key figures there.
By 1981, Epstein founded his own consulting firm, Intercontinental Assets Group Inc., which he described as a high-level bounty hunter service, assisting clients in recovering stolen money. He also claimed to work as a consultant for governments and the ultra-wealthy. During the 1980s, his travels spanned the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. He met figures like Steven Hoffenberg, and rumors circulated of his involvement with British intelligence, with associates alleging he was recruited by British intelligence and introduced to Robert Maxwell.
Possessing an Austrian passport with a false name and listing Saudi Arabia as his residence, Epstein's connections and activities remained shrouded in mystery. Reports suggested that Alexander Acosta, the US Attorney who later handled Epstein's case, was told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence" and to "leave it alone." Among his clients was Saudi Arabian businessman Adnan Khashoggi, involved in the Iran-Contra affair.
In 1987, Epstein became a consultant for Towers Financial Corporation, a collection agency. He and Steven Hoffenberg apparently refashioned themselves as corporate raiders. Towers Financial imploded in 1993, exposed as a massive Ponzi scheme, though Epstein was never charged for his involvement.
In 1988, Epstein founded his financial management firm, J. Epstein & Company, reportedly managing assets for clients with over a billion dollars in net worth. His most publicly known billionaire client was Leslie Wexner, CEO of L Brands. Epstein became Wexner's financial advisor and right-hand man, managing his affairs and projects, including the construction of his yacht. He also represented himself as a global talent scout for Victoria's Secret, using this position to allegedly manipulate young women.
By 1995, Epstein held directorial roles in Wexner's foundations and managed his property developments. He made millions in fees, though he was never directly employed by L Brands. He frequently attended Victoria's Secret fashion shows, hosted models, and helped aspiring ones secure work. In 1996, he renamed his firm the Financial Trust Company and, for tax advantages, relocated it to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, utilizing it as an offshore tax haven. By 2002, his financial staff numbered 150 employees across multiple locations.
Epstein's relationship with JPMorgan Chase was complex. Despite concerns raised by the bank's general counsel in 2011 about Epstein not being an "honorable person," he remained a client until 2013, when increased pressure from regulators led to his departure. He then moved his business to Deutsche Bank.
Forbes reported that between 1999 and 2018, the majority of Epstein's wealth, estimated at $600 million at his death, came from fees, primarily from billionaires Leslie Wexner and Leon Black. He engaged with numerous lawyers throughout his life. Investigations into his financial records revealed extensive wire transfers totaling billions of dollars, with some reports linking these transfers to his sex trafficking activities.
Epstein's business dealings included his presidency of Liquid Funding Ltd., a company involved in the repurchase market. The innovation of Liquid Funding, using complex bundled securities as collateral, is believed to have contributed to the collapse of Bear Stearns in 2008 and the subsequent global financial crisis. In 2006, Epstein invested significantly in a Bear Stearns hedge fund, which collapsed in 2007, triggering a repricing and freeze in the CDO market.
As the Bear Stearns fund failed, Epstein was negotiating a plea deal with the US Attorney's Office. Alexander Acosta brokered a lenient deal, allegedly due to orders from higher officials who considered Epstein important to the government. As part of the negotiations, Epstein provided information to prosecutors. This plea deal, criticized as a "sweetheart deal," was later found to have violated victims' rights.
In 2003, Epstein partnered with Mortimer Zuckerman, Donny Deutsch, and Nelson Peltz in an unsuccessful bid to acquire New York magazine. In 2004, he and Zuckerman financed Radar magazine, which folded after three issues. Between 2002 and 2005, Epstein invested $80 million in the D.B. Zwirn Special Opportunities Fund, a hedge fund that later refused to redeem his investment. The fund closed in 2008, with its assets transferred to Fortress Investment Group.
Following his first arrest, Epstein sought to engage with the surveillance industry. Leaked emails suggested he leveraged his relationship with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to approach figures like Peter Thiel and individuals connected to Vladimir Putin. In 2015, he invested in the startup Reporty Homeland Security, later rebranded as Carbyne, which was connected to Israel's defense industry and headed by Barak.
In 2018, Epstein claimed he was assisting Elon Musk in finding a new chairman for Tesla.
Multiple sources reported that Epstein possessed a vast archive of video and audio recordings, allegedly used to compromise influential people. His private island in the Virgin Islands was reportedly wired for video, with evidence suggesting that Maxwell and Epstein were videotaping guests. Hidden cameras were discovered in his Palm Beach residence, and his New York mansion was extensively wired with surveillance systems. Maria Farmer, a former employee, described a media room where individuals monitored cameras throughout the house, observing private moments. Epstein allegedly "lent" girls to powerful individuals to gain leverage and possible blackmail material, keeping compact discs with handwritten labels in his safe.
Journalist Michael Wolff stated that Epstein's email archives, seized by the FBI, were likely to incriminate others. In 2003, David Bank conducted a five-hour interview with Epstein that remained unpublished. Over a hundred hours of interviews with Michael Wolff began to be released in 2024.
Allegations of abuse against Epstein date back to 1996 when Maria Farmer reported being raped. Transgender model Ava Cordero also alleged abuse and filed suit in 2007. Virginia Giuffre was among the first accusers to go public in 2011.
The initial investigation in Palm Beach in 2005 stemmed from a tip about young women frequenting Epstein's home. A woman reported that her 14-year-old stepdaughter was allegedly paid to strip and massage Epstein. The subsequent 13-month undercover investigation led to the discovery of hidden cameras and numerous photos of girls. Adriana Ross, a former assistant, reportedly removed computer drives before the search. Incriminating evidence, including books on sadomasochism, was found. Reports detailed allegations of underage girls being flown in for Epstein's birthday and recruited from various countries, with the modeling agency "MC2," financed by Epstein, also supplying girls.
In 2006, Epstein was arrested on state felony charges. The grand jury returned a single charge of felony solicitation of prostitution. His defense team included prominent lawyers like Roy Black, Alan Dershowitz, and Ken Starr.
The FBI's "Operation Leap Year" led to a 53-page indictment in 2007. Alexander Acosta, then US Attorney, agreed to a non-prosecution agreement, granting immunity from federal charges to Epstein and co-conspirators. This agreement, criticized for concealing information from victims, effectively halted the FBI probe. Acosta later cited being told Epstein "belonged to intelligence" as a reason for the lenient deal. Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges, receiving an 18-month sentence. However, he was housed in a private wing, allowed extensive work release, and his sentence was reduced due to his cooperation in providing information related to Bear Stearns executives.
Despite being a level-three registered sex offender, the New York Police Department allegedly failed to enforce the required 90-day check-ins. The immunity agreement and lenient treatment sparked public outcry, leading to Acosta's resignation as Secretary of Labor. Institutions and individuals returned donations from Epstein.
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges. A search of his Manhattan townhouse uncovered evidence of sex trafficking and numerous sexually suggestive photographs, some confirmed to be of underage females. A locked safe contained cash, diamonds, and a fraudulent Austrian passport. Prosecutors charged him with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors. His request for bond was denied due to his danger to the public and flight risk. The case against him was closed after his death.
France also opened a preliminary investigation into Epstein for rape and sexual assault of minors. His associate, modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, was arrested in connection with this investigation.
In September 2025, the House Oversight Committee released a 2003 birthday album for Epstein, which included a letter attributed to Donald Trump, though Trump denied its authenticity.
Epstein's personal life was marked by high self-regard and a skilled ability in human relations. He believed success wasn't solely about hard work but about connections. His notable relationships included Eva Andersson-Dubin and Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, daughter of media baron Robert Maxwell, was implicated by accusers as a procurer of underage girls and served as Epstein's chief girlfriend for an extended period. Their association was described as being "predators together." Employees testified to Maxwell's central role in his public and private life.
His last known partner was Karyna Shuliak, who maintained contact with him even while he was jailed. She is a significant beneficiary of his financial arrangements.
Epstein preyed on vulnerable victims, including Virginia Giuffre, who was living on the streets at 13 when she met him. He provided her with security and took her on international trips. Other victims came through modeling or massage services, with Epstein allegedly luring them with promises of education and clientele. Ruslana Korshunova, a model, was 18 when she boarded Epstein's jet to his USVI residence.
Epstein was a longtime acquaintance of Prince Andrew, Tom Barrack, and frequented many prominent figures, including Harvey Weinstein, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and many others. His "black books" contained contact information for figures like Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg, and Ehud Barak. He was involved with Sarah Ferguson, and his friendship with Prince Andrew led to a photo of them together on the Queen's estate. Clinton and Trump denied visiting Epstein's private island, though Clinton's flight logs showed multiple trips. Epstein also advised journalists on their work and expressed interest in writing his biography.
He reportedly circulated "catalogs of photographs" among his houseguests, allowing powerful men to choose women they wanted to meet. Melinda French Gates cited disgust with Epstein as a reason for her divorce from Bill Gates, who admitted it was a mistake to spend time with him. Epstein maintained contact with Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, and met with political strategist Steve Bannon.
After his 2008 incarceration, Epstein was shunned by some, but socialite Peggy Siegal helped facilitate his return to elite circles through dinner parties. Siegal, his connection to the entertainment world, claimed he assured her he had changed his ways. However, allegations of rape on his island as young as age 11 surfaced. Siegal's efforts to reintroduce him to society included inviting figures like Katie Couric and Woody Allen to a dinner for Prince Andrew. Brockman continued his friendship, with Epstein funding his literary events, allowing him to mingle with prominent scientists and tech billionaires.
Epstein's association with Donald Trump spanned from the 1990s to the mid-2000s, with them socializing in New York and Palm Beach. Trump described him as a "terrific guy" who enjoyed "beautiful women." In 2019, Trump stated he knew Epstein as "everybody in Palm Beach knew him" and hadn't spoken to him in about 15 years. A 1992 video showed them partying at Mar-a-Lago. Trump reportedly banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for pursuing young girls. Epstein claimed to be Trump's closest friend for a decade, and speculation arose that each had accumulated incriminating information on the other. Despite Trump's claims, reports suggested Epstein remained a member at Mar-a-Lago years after his alleged ban.
Clinton's spokesman lauded Epstein as a "committed philanthropist." Epstein served on boards, was a member of influential commissions, and a major donor. He visited the White House multiple times during Clinton's presidency. He also met with Clinton aides and attended fundraisers.
Epstein associated with Harvey Weinstein, though he reportedly severed ties when Weinstein "acted too aggressively with one of his favorite girls."
Epstein was a member of prominent organizations including the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission.
His Boeing 727 jet, nicknamed the "Lolita Express," frequently flew underage girls to his private island. Epstein reportedly threatened a journalist who inquired about his activities. Forbes reported that the jet was originally owned by Leslie Wexner before being transferred to Epstein. Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton flew on his planes. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admitted to traveling with Epstein. Epstein also flew to Cuba with Colombian President Andrés Pastrana Arango. Trump flew on Epstein's planes multiple times, and Clinton's flight logs showed numerous trips.
Forbes estimated Epstein's wealth at $600 million at his death, primarily from fees. His use of tax exemptions in the US Virgin Islands saved him millions. While some sources questioned the extent of his wealth, suggesting it was more illusion than fact, federal prosecutors stated he had assets worth at least $500 million. His wealth was believed to be spread secretly across the globe. His estate paid out nearly $50 million to victims, and its valuation decreased significantly.
Epstein owned residences in New York City, the US Virgin Islands (including Little Saint James and Great Saint James islands), Palm Beach, Florida, and a ranch in New Mexico. His New York mansion was valued at $77 million, featuring elaborate security and hidden rooms. His Virgin Islands properties were central to his activities. His partnership in American Yacht Harbour with Trump associate Andrew Farkas came about during Epstein's legal troubles. JPMorgan Chase settled a lawsuit for $105 million over allegations it helped Epstein's criminal enterprise prosper. His Financial Trust Company generated significant fee income, primarily from Wexner. Southern Trust, focused on Leon Black's needs, was established in 2013. The Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands was fired after filing charges against JP MorganChase over Epstein and his Southern Trust.
Epstein had offices in the Villard House in Manhattan, described as old-fashioned and not corporate. He rented apartments for employees, models, and guests, some owned by his brother Mark. He housed underage girls in these apartments, and a suspicious drug overdose death of a model occurred in the complex.
Epstein made political donations to both Democratic and Republican parties. He contributed to refurbishing the White House and supported various New Mexico political campaigns. A notice from New Mexico indicated he was not required to register as a sex offender there, contradicting federal law.
Rumors linked Epstein to intelligence agencies, with claims he gathered compromising material for blackmail. He was reportedly connected to Mossad via Ghislaine Maxwell. Alexander Acosta allegedly stated Epstein "belonged to intelligence." Former CIA Director William J. Burns met with Epstein multiple times. Reports suggested Epstein had ties to Russian civil servant Sergei Belyakov and claimed to have met Vladimir Putin. John Mark Dougan, a former deputy sheriff, allegedly copied and handed over Epstein's kompromat to Russia. Ghislaine Maxwell dismissed tales of Epstein's intelligence involvement as "bullshit."
Epstein engaged in philanthropy, funding science research and education through the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation and other charities. He pledged significant donations to Harvard for a mathematical biology program. Forbes deleted an article praising him after revelations about the author's payment. He was reportedly involved in conceiving the Clinton Global Initiative. He co-organized a science event on his private island. His charitable donations and their extent remain unclear.
Epstein developed an interest in "improving" the human race through genetic engineering and artificial intelligence, expressing fascination with eugenics and planning to "seed the human race with his DNA." He was an advocate of cryonics and intended to have his penis and head frozen. Scientists who accepted his funding faced criticism, with some apologizing for their association.
On July 23, 2019, Epstein was found injured and semiconscious in his jail cell. His cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, denied knowledge of the incident. Correctional staff suspected attempted suicide, but assault was not ruled out. He was placed on suicide watch. Six days later, he was moved to a special housing unit. Procedures for monitoring him were not followed on the night of his death. Guards fell asleep, and cameras malfunctioned.
Epstein was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019. The Bureau of Prisons and Attorney General William Barr called it an apparent suicide. An Inspector General's report criticized jail officials for negligence and misconduct.
Autopsy results revealed multiple breaks in his neck bones, including the hyoid bone, which can occur in hangings but is also common in homicidal strangulation. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging, but Epstein's lawyers disputed this, conducting their own investigation and suggesting homicide. Independent pathologist Michael Baden also stated the injuries were more consistent with homicide.
Epstein signed his last will and testament two days before his death. His body was claimed by his brother Mark and interred in an unmarked crypt.
Investigations into his death revealed "serious irregularities" in the prison's handling of Epstein. Judge Richard M. Berman inquired about the prior injuries. The union president of prison locals cited staffing issues and budget cuts under the Trump administration. Correctional officers were charged with falsifying records and conspiracy for failing to check on Epstein, admitting to falsifying records but avoiding jail time. A list of over 170 Epstein associates was ordered unsealed.
In 2025, a former Attorney General stated Epstein's client list was reviewed, and Elon Musk alleged Trump was in the files. Later, it was announced there was no client list and no evidence of blackmail, with the official ruling of suicide reaffirmed. However, surveillance footage released by the FBI was found to have been modified, with minutes missing, raising further questions. Congressional efforts were made to force the release of the Epstein files, with subpoenas issued to various figures, including former Attorneys General and Alexander Acosta.
Epstein's death became a subject of widespread controversy and debate, with the belief that his death was a homicide becoming a popular meme. Several documentaries and series have been produced about his life and death. A statue of Epstein was placed outside Albuquerque City Hall as satirical commentary. Footage of Trump and Epstein at a 1992 party appeared in the film Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
Copied!
Jeffrey Edward Epstein (January 20, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School. After his dismissal from the school in 1976, he entered the banking and finance sector, working at Bear Stearns in various roles before starting his own firm. Epstein cultivated an elite social circle and procured many women and children whom he and his associates sexually abused.
In 2005, police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein after a parent reported that he had sexually abused her 14-year-old daughter. Federal officials identified 36 girls, some as young as 14 years old, whom Epstein had allegedly sexually abused. Epstein pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2008 by a Florida state court of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute. He was convicted of only these two crimes as part of a controversial plea deal agreed by the US Department of Justice's Alex Acosta, and served almost 13 months in custody but with extensive work release.
Epstein was arrested again on July 6, 2019, on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He died in his jail cell on August 10, 2019. The medical examiner ruled that his death was a suicide by hanging. Epstein's lawyers have disputed the ruling, and there has been significant public skepticism about the true cause of his death, resulting in numerous conspiracy theories. In July 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released CCTV footage supporting the conclusion that Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell. However, when the Department of Justice released the footage, approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds of it was missing, and the video was found to have been modified despite the FBI's claim that it was raw.
Since Epstein's death precluded the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against him, a judge dismissed all criminal charges on August 29, 2019. Epstein had a decades-long association with the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who recruited young girls for him, leading to her 2021 conviction on US federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy for helping him procure girls, including a 14-year-old, for child sexual abuse and prostitution. His friendship with public figures including Prince Andrew, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, has attracted significant controversy.
== Early life ==
Jeffrey Edward Epstein was born on January 20, 1953, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. His parents, Pauline "Paula" Stolofsky (1918–2004) and Seymour George Epstein (1916–1991), were Jewish and had married in 1952 shortly before his birth. Pauline worked as a school aide and was a homemaker. "Paula was a wonderful mother and homemaker, despite the fact that she had a full-time job", according to a former childhood friend of Epstein's. Seymour worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation as a groundskeeper and gardener. Jeffrey was the older of two siblings; he and his brother Mark grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Sea Gate, a private gated community in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Epstein was referred to as "Bear" by his parents while Mark was known as "Puggie". Neighbors described the Epstein family as being, "so gentle, the most gentle people".
Epstein, who eventually grew to just under six feet, attended local public schools, first attending Public School 188, and then Mark Twain Junior High School nearby and usually earned money by tutoring classmates. Acquaintances considered Epstein "sweet and generous", although "quiet and nerdy", and nicknamed him "Eppy". "He was just an average boy, very smart in math, slightly overweight, freckles, always smiling", a female friend later said.
In 1967, Epstein attended the National Music Camp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He began playing the piano when he was five, and was regarded as a talented musician by friends. He graduated in 1969 from Lafayette High School at age 16, having skipped two grades. Later that year, he attended advanced math classes at Cooper Union until he changed colleges in 1971. From September 1971, he attended the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University studying mathematical physiology, but left without receiving a degree in June 1974.
== Career ==
=== Private school teacher (1974–1976) ===
At age 21, Epstein started working in September 1974 as a physics and mathematics teacher for teens at the Dalton School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Donald Barr, who served as the headmaster until June 1974, was known to have made several unconventional recruitments at the time, although it is unclear whether he had a direct role in hiring Epstein. Three months after Barr's departure, Epstein began to teach at the school, despite his lack of credentials.
Epstein allegedly showed inappropriate behavior toward underage female students at the time, paying them constant attention, and even showing up at a party where young people were drinking, according to a former student. Other former students also often saw him flirting with female students. Eventually, Epstein became acquainted with Alan Greenberg, the chief executive officer of Bear Stearns, whose son and daughter were attending the school. Greenberg's daughter, Lynne Koeppel, pointed to a parent-teacher conference where Epstein influenced another Dalton parent into advocating for him to Greenberg. In June 1976, after Epstein was dismissed from Dalton for "poor performance", Greenberg offered him a job at Bear Stearns.
=== Bear Stearns (1976–1981) ===
Epstein joined Bear Stearns in 1976 as a low-level junior assistant to a floor trader. He swiftly moved up to become an options trader, working in the special products division, and then advised the bank's wealthiest clients, such as Seagram president Edgar Bronfman, on tax mitigation strategies. Jimmy Cayne, the bank's later chief executive officer, praised Epstein's skill with wealthy clients and complex products. In 1980, four years after joining Bear Stearns, Epstein became a limited partner. In 1981, Epstein was asked to leave Bear Stearns for, according to his sworn testimony, being guilty of a "Reg D violation". Even though Epstein departed abruptly, he remained close to Cayne and Greenberg and was a client of Bear Stearns until its collapse in 2008.
=== Financial troubleshooter (1981–1987) ===
In August 1981, Epstein founded his own consulting firm, Intercontinental Assets Group Inc. (IAG), which assisted clients in recovering stolen money from fraudulent brokers and lawyers. Epstein described his work at this time as being a high-level bounty hunter. He told friends that he worked sometimes as a consultant for governments and the very wealthy to recover embezzled funds, while at other times he worked for clients who had embezzled funds. Spanish actress and heiress Ana Obregón was one such wealthy client, whom Epstein helped in 1982 to recover her father's millions in lost investments, which had disappeared when Drysdale Government Securities collapsed because of fraud.
In the mid-1980s, Epstein traveled multiple times between the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. While in London, Epstein met Steven Hoffenberg. They had been introduced through Douglas Leese, a defense contractor, and John Mitchell, the former US Attorney General. An anonymous source met with Epstein and Leese as early as 1981. Epstein also stated to some people at the time that he was an intelligence agent. Epstein associate Hoffenberg in 2020 alleged that Epstein was recruited in the 1980s by Leese to work for British intelligence, and that Hoffenberg introduced Epstein to Robert Maxwell.
During the 1980s, Epstein possessed an Austrian passport that had his photo, but with a false name. The passport showed his place of residence as Saudi Arabia. In 2017, "a former senior White House official" reported that Alexander Acosta, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida who had handled Epstein's criminal case at the end of the George W. Bush administration, had stated to interviewers of President Donald Trump's first transition team: "I was told Epstein 'belonged to intelligence' and to 'leave it alone'", and that Epstein was "above his pay grade".
During this period, one of Epstein's clients was the Saudi Arabian businessman Adnan Khashoggi, who was the middleman in transferring American weapons from Israel to Iran as part of the Iran–Contra affair in the 1980s. Khashoggi had been introduced to him by Leese. Khashoggi was one of several defense contractors that he knew.
=== Towers Financial Corporation (1987–1993) ===
Steven Hoffenberg hired Epstein in 1987 as a consultant for Towers Financial Corporation (unaffiliated with the company of the same name founded in 1998, and acquired by Old National Bancorp in 2014), a collection agency that bought debts people owed to hospitals, banks, and phone companies. Hoffenberg set Epstein up in offices in the Villard Houses in Manhattan and paid him US$25,000 per month for his consulting work (equivalent to $69,000 in 2024).
Hoffenberg and Epstein then refashioned themselves as corporate raiders using Towers Financial as their raiding vessel. One of Epstein's first assignments for Hoffenberg was to implement what turned out to be an unsuccessful bid to take over Pan American World Airways in 1987. A similar unsuccessful bid in 1988 was made to take over Emery Air Freight Corp. During this period, Hoffenberg and Epstein worked closely together and traveled everywhere on Hoffenberg's private jet.
In 1993, Towers Financial Corporation imploded when it was exposed as one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in American history, losing over US$450 million of its investors' money (equivalent to $1 billion in 2024). In court documents, Hoffenberg claimed that Epstein was intimately involved in the scheme. Epstein left the company by 1989 and was never charged for involvement in the massive investor fraud committed. It is unknown if Epstein acquired any stolen funds from the Towers Ponzi scheme.
=== J. Epstein & Company (1988–2019) ===
In 1988, while Epstein was still consulting for Hoffenberg, he founded his financial management firm, J. Epstein & Company. The company was said by Epstein to have been formed to manage the assets of clients with more than US$1 billion in net worth, although others have expressed skepticism that he was restrictive of the clients that he took.
The only publicly known billionaire client of Epstein was Leslie Wexner, chairman and CEO of L Brands (formerly The Limited, Inc.) and Victoria's Secret. In 1986, Epstein met Wexner through their mutual acquaintances, insurance executive Robert Meister and his wife, in Palm Beach. A year later, Epstein became Wexner's financial adviser and served as his right-hand man. Within the year, Epstein had sorted out Wexner's entangled finances. In July 1991, Wexner granted Epstein full power of attorney over his affairs. The power of attorney allowed Epstein to hire people, sign checks, buy and sell properties, borrow money, and do anything else of a legally binding nature on Wexner's behalf. Epstein managed Wexner's wealth and various projects such as the building of his yacht, the Limitless. It was during this time that Southern Air Transport relocated its headquarters to service Wexner's brands, and that Epstein dated models like Stacey Williams. Epstein represented himself as a global talent scout for Victoria's Secret during this time and used this powerful position to sexually manipulate young women.
By 1995, Epstein was a director of the Wexner Foundation and Wexner Heritage Foundation. He was also the president of Wexner's Property, which developed part of the town of New Albany outside Columbus, Ohio, where Wexner lived. Epstein made millions in fees by managing Wexner's financial affairs. Although never employed by L Brands, he frequently corresponded with the company executives. Epstein often attended Victoria's Secret fashion shows, and hosted the models at his New York City home, as well as helping aspiring models get work with the company.
In 1996, Epstein changed the name of his firm to the Financial Trust Company and, for tax advantages, based it on the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. By relocating to the US Virgin Islands, Epstein was able to reduce federal income taxes by 90 percent. The US Virgin Islands acted as an offshore tax haven, while at the same time offering the advantages of being part of the United States banking system; Epstein, who capitalized on his relation with Jes Staley while the latter was employed by JP Morgan, maintained close relations with that bank's subsidiary in the USVI.
In 2002, according to New York Magazine, his financial-administrative staff numbered 150 employees (among whom 20 accountants) across three sites: Villard House in Manhattan, the Wexner operation in Columbus, and St Thomas USVI.
Although it took 12 years to deliver the story, as Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times tells it JP Morgan banker Jes Staley and CEO Jamie Dimon had a falling-out over Staley's client Epstein sometime around 2012, after in October 2011 the general counsel of the bank, Stephen Cutler, complained to Staley and others that Epstein was "not an honorable person in any way. He should not be a client." At the meeting between Staley, Epstein and Cutler, the last was assuaged when Epstein lied to his face and trotted out for character reference Bill Gates. The bank did not discard Epstein until, facing increased pressure from federal regulators, 2013, coincidentally the year of Staley's departure from the bank. Epstein thereafter moved his trade to the American affiliate of Deutsche Bank.
According to Forbes in 2025, the great majority of Epstein's wealth between 1999 and 2018 came from $490 million in fees, (most of that from two billionaires, Leslie Wexner, $200 million, and Leon Black, $170 million) with the remaining $310 million reported as income during that period by his companies as being from investment returns, and was worth $600 million when he died.
In the course of his life Epstein engaged with no fewer than 75 lawyers, including Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr, Roy Black and Jay Lefkowitz. Senator Ron Wyden said in Congress that the US Treasury Department file on Epstein detailed from one account no less than 4,725 wire transfers that totalled $1.1 billion, and that he had extensive financial correspondence from Russian banks over his sex trafficking activities. Another report from Forbes says that between four banks (JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Bank of New York Mellon and Bank of America) the transfers totalled more than $1.9 billion.
==== Liquid Funding and the Bear Stearns explosion (2000–2008) ====
Epstein was the president of the Bermuda-incorporated company Liquid Funding Ltd. between 2000 and 2007. The company was an early pioneer in expanding the kind of debt that could be accepted on repurchase, or the repo market, which involves a lender giving money to a borrower in exchange for securities that the borrower then agrees to buy back at an agreed-upon later time and price. The innovation of Liquid Funding, and other early companies, was that instead of having stocks and bonds as the underlying securities, it had commercial mortgages and investment-grade residential mortgages bundled into complex securities as the underlying security.
Liquid Funding was initially 40 percent owned by Bear Stearns. Through the help of credit rating agencies—Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service—the new bundled securities were able to be created for companies so that they received a gold-plated AAA rating. The implosion of complex securities, because of their inaccurate ratings, led to the collapse of Bear Stearns in March 2008 and set in motion the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession. If Liquid Funding were left holding large amounts of such securities as collateral, it could have lost large amounts of money.
In August 2006, a month after the federal investigation of him began, Epstein invested $57 million in the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage hedge fund. The SEC filings for the Bear Stearns fund show that Epstein's Financial Trust Company controlled the votes of a 10-percent share. This fund was highly leveraged in mortgage-backed collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).
On April 18, 2007, an investor in the fund, who had $57 million invested, discussed redeeming his investment. At this time, the fund had a leverage ratio of 17:1, which meant for every dollar invested there were 17 dollars of borrowed funds; therefore, the redemption of this investment would have been equivalent to removing $1 billion from the thinly traded CDO market. The selling of CDO assets to meet the redemptions that month began a repricing process and general freeze in the CDO market. The repricing of the CDO assets caused the collapse of the fund three months later in July, and the eventual collapse of Bear Stearns in March 2008. Losses to investors in the two Bear Stearns funds were estimated to exceed $1.6 billion.
By the time the Bear Stearns fund began to fail in May 2007, Epstein had begun to negotiate a plea deal with the US Attorney's Office concerning imminent charges for sex with minors. In August 2007, a month after the fund collapsed, the US attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta, entered into direct discussions about the plea agreement. Acosta brokered a lenient deal, according to him, because he had been ordered by higher government officials, who told him that Epstein was an individual of importance to the government.
As part of the negotiations, according to the Miami Herald, Epstein provided "unspecified information" to the Florida federal prosecutors for a more lenient sentence and was supposedly "Unnamed investor #1" for the New York federal prosecutors in their unsuccessful June 2008 criminal case against Cioffi and Tannen, two of the managers of the failed Bear Stearns hedge fund.
Alan Dershowitz, one of Epstein's attorneys in the 2008 criminal case, told Fox Business Network in 2019, "We would have been touting that if he had [cooperated]. The idea that Epstein helped in any prosecution is news to me." Moody's reported that on April 18, 2008 "all outstanding rated liabilities" of Liquid Funding were "paid in full". At the time the liquidator had not yet sold the beleaguered fund to its new owner as of May 1: JP Morgan.
==== Epstein & Zuckerman (2003–2004) ====
In 2003, New York Daily News publisher Mortimer Zuckerman partnered with Epstein, advertising executive Donny Deutsch, and investor Nelson Peltz in a bid to acquire the New York magazine. The ultimate buyer was Bruce Wasserstein, a longtime Wall Street investment banker, who paid US$55 million, over US$10 million above the offer from Zuckerman, Epstein, Deutsch, and Peltz.
In 2004, Epstein and Zuckerman committed up to US$25 million to finance Radar, a celebrity and pop culture magazine founded by Maer Roshan. Epstein and Zuckerman were equal partners in the venture. Roshan, as its editor-in-chief, retained a small ownership stake. It folded after three issues as a print publication and became exclusively an online one.
==== Zwirn (2002–2008) ====
Between 2002 and 2005, Epstein invested $80 million in the D.B. Zwirn Special Opportunities Fund, a hedge fund that invested in illiquid debt securities. In November 2006, Epstein attempted to redeem his investment after he was informed of accounting irregularities in the fund. By this time, his investment had grown to $140 million. The D.B. Zwirn fund refused to redeem the investment. Hedge funds that invest in illiquid securities typically have years-long "lockups" on their capital for all investors and require redemption requests to be made in writing 60 to 90 days in advance. The fund was closed in 2008, and its remaining assets of approximately $2 billion, including Epstein's investment, were transferred to Fortress Investment Group when that firm bought the assets in 2009. Epstein later went to arbitration with Fortress over his redemption attempt. The outcome of that arbitration is not publicly known.
==== Carbyne (2015) ====
After his first arrest, Epstein tried to get access to the emerging industry of surveillance. Leaked emails (released by the hacker group Handala, which "likely operates out of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence", according to Reuters) show that Epstein leveraged his relationship with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (who met Epstein around 30 times between 2013 and 2017, and according to emails leaked by Handala, having visited Epstein's private island together with his wife while arranging to leave his security team behind in January 2014 ) to approach powerful figures like Peter Thiel, a former director of Israeli signals intelligence, and two people in Vladimir Putin's circle (former Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Sergey Belyakov and Viktor Vekselberg).
In 2015, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Epstein invested in the startup Reporty Homeland Security (rebranded as Carbyne in 2018). The startup was connected with Israel's defense industry and headed by Barak. The CEO of the company is Amir Elihai, a special forces officer, and Pinchas Bukhris, a director of the company and former defense ministry director general and commander of IDF cyber unit 8200. Epstein had past experience with Israel's research and military sector. In April 2008, he went to Israel and met with a number of research scientists and visited different Israeli military bases.
Epstein arranged for Barak to meet Thiel in New York on June 9, 2014. In 2016, he pitched Reporty to Thiel-founded Valar Ventures (in 2015 and 2016, Epstein invested US$40 million into funds managed by Valar ), but the proposal got rejected on account of being premature, but Valar's McCormack said they would try to reengage when the startup was more developed. In 2018, the Founders Fund, another firm co-founded by Thiel, joined the $15 million Series B.
While scheduling the meeting with Thiel, Barak also discussed with Epstein about meeting Putin's ally Viktor Vekselberg on the 6th and 8th day of June 2014. An email sent in April 2015 shows that Barak asked Epstein for his opinion on Vekselberg-backed Fifth Dimension, a startup which later shut down after being sanctioned in 2018 by the US for alleged election meddling.
==== Tesla (2018) ====
In August 2018 Epstein said in a New York Times interview that he was helping Elon Musk to find a new chairman for Tesla when the latter was in trouble with the SEC over his comments that he would privatize the car manufacturer.
== Video, photo and email archives ==
Multiple well-placed sources told Vicky Ward that Epstein lacked a moral compass, and decided to compromise influential people "by recording them doing things they wouldn't want made public." Epstein told a journalist with the New York Times in August 2018 that he "had dirt on powerful people", "including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use."
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's long-term girlfriend and companion, told a friend that Epstein's private island in the Virgin Islands was completely wired for video and the friend believed that Maxwell and Epstein were videotaping everyone on the island as an insurance policy. When police raided his Palm Beach residence in 2006, two hidden cameras were discovered in his home. It was also reported that Epstein's mansion in New York was wired extensively with a video surveillance system.
Maria Farmer, an artist who worked for Epstein in 1996, noted that Epstein showed her a media room in the New York mansion where there were individuals monitoring the pinhole cameras throughout the house. The media room was accessed through a hidden door. She stated that in the media room "there were men sitting here. And I looked on the cameras, and I saw toilet, toilet, bed, bed, toilet, bed." She added that "It was very obvious that they were, like, monitoring private moments."
Epstein allegedly "lent" girls to powerful people to ingratiate himself with them and also to gain possible blackmail information. According to the Department of Justice, he kept compact discs locked in his safe in his New York mansion with handwritten labels that included the description: "young [name] + [name]". Epstein implied that he had blackmail material when he told a New York Times reporter in 2018, off the record, that he had dirt on powerful people, including information about their sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.
In August 2025, author Michael Wolff remarked that Epstein's email archives, which were seized when the FBI raided Herbert Strauss house and took possession of his computers, are likely to incriminate others.
== Audio recordings ==
In 2003, Bloomberg journalist David Bank spoke on Little St James with Epstein in a 5-hour long interview, which Bank left unpublished prior to Epstein's death.
In 2017, Epstein spoke in interviews, over the course of more than one hundred hours, with journalist Michael Wolff, which began to be released in November 2024, as part of Wolff's Fire and Fury podcast.
== Legal issues ==
Maria Farmer alleges that she reported that Epstein raped her to the New York City Police Department and the FBI in 1996 but nothing was done and his depravity went unpunished for a decade longer. In October 2007, transgender model Ava Cordero alleged that Epstein had abused her and filed suit accordingly, however it was dismissed, with press at the time instead making allegations about Cordero's mental health and mocking her gender identity. Virginia Giuffre was among the first of Epstein's accusers to reveal her identity to the public, in 2011.
=== First criminal case (2005–2011) ===
==== Initial developments (2005–2006) ====
According to The Washington Post, in November 2004, Palm Beach police were tipped about young women coming and going from Epstein's home. In March 2005, a woman contacted Florida's Palm Beach Police Department and alleged that her 14-year-old stepdaughter had been taken to Epstein's mansion by an older girl. While there, she was allegedly paid $300 (equivalent to $480 in 2024) to strip and massage Epstein. She had allegedly undressed, but left the encounter wearing her underwear. Palm Beach Police began a 13-month undercover investigation of Epstein, including a search of his home. During the investigation, Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter publicly accused the Palm Beach County state prosecutor, Barry Krischer, of being too lenient and called for help from the FBI.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) then became involved. Subsequently, the police alleged that Epstein had paid several girls to perform sexual acts with him. Interviews with five alleged victims and seventeen witnesses under oath, a high-school transcript and other items found in Epstein's trash and home allegedly showed that some of the girls involved were under 18, the youngest being 14, with many under 16. The police search of Epstein's home found two hidden cameras and large numbers of photos of girls throughout the house, some of whom the police had interviewed in the course of their investigation. Adriana Ross, a former model from Poland who became an Epstein assistant, reportedly removed computer drives and other electronic equipment from the financier's Florida mansion before Palm Beach Police searched the home as part of their investigation. The court documents record that a search of Epstein's residence by Palm Beach Police detective Joseph Recarey in 2005 uncovered an incriminating Amazon receipt containing books on sadomasochism.
A former employee told the police that Epstein would receive massages three times a day. Eventually the FBI compiled reports on "34 confirmed minors" eligible for restitution (increased to 40 in the non-prosecution agreement) whose allegations of sexual abuse by Epstein included corroborating details. Julie Brown's 2018 exposés in the Miami Herald identified 80 victims and located about 60 of them. She quotes the then police chief Reiter as saying "This was 50-something 'shes' and one 'he'—and the 'shes' all basically told the same story." Details from the investigation included allegations that 12-year-old triplets were flown in from France for Epstein's birthday, and flown back the following day after being sexually abused by the financier. It was alleged that young girls were recruited from Brazil and other South American countries, former Soviet countries, and Europe, and that Jean-Luc Brunel's "MC2" modeling agency was also supplying girls to Epstein, who actually financed the French agency.
In May 2006, Palm Beach police filed a probable cause affidavit saying that Epstein should be charged with four counts of unlawful sex with minors and one count of sexual abuse. On July 27, 2006, Epstein was arrested by the Palm Beach Police Department on state felony charges of procuring a minor for prostitution and solicitation of a prostitute. He was booked at the Palm Beach County jail and later released on a $3,000 bond. State prosecutor Krischer later convened a Palm Beach County grand jury, which was usually only done in capital cases. Presented evidence from only two victims, the grand jury returned a single charge of felony solicitation of prostitution, to which Epstein pleaded not guilty in August 2006. Epstein's defense lawyers included Roy Black, Gerald Lefcourt, Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, and former US Solicitor General Ken Starr. Linguist Steven Pinker also assisted.
==== Non-prosecution agreement (NPA) (2006–2008) ====
In July 2006, the FBI began its own investigation of Epstein, nicknamed "Operation Leap Year". It resulted in a 53-page indictment in June 2007. Alexander Acosta, then the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, agreed to a plea deal, which Alan Dershowitz helped to negotiate, to grant immunity from all federal criminal charges to Epstein, along with four named co-conspirators and any unnamed "potential co-conspirators". According to the Miami Herald, the non-prosecution agreement "essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein's sex crimes". At the time, this halted the investigation and sealed the indictment. The Miami Herald said: "Acosta agreed, despite a federal law to the contrary, that the deal would be kept from the victims."
Acosta later said he offered a lenient plea deal because he was told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence", was "above his pay grade" and to "leave it alone". Epstein agreed to plead guilty in Florida state court to two felony prostitution charges, serve 18 months in prison, register as a sex offender, and pay restitution to three dozen victims identified by the FBI. The plea deal was later described as a "sweetheart deal".
A federal judge later found that the prosecutors had violated victims' rights by concealing the agreement from the victims and instead urging them to have "patience". According to an internal review conducted by the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility, released in November 2020, Acosta showed "poor judgment" in granting Epstein a non-prosecution agreement and failing to notify Epstein's alleged victims about the agreement.
In 2019, Judge Kenneth Marra for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida adjudicated that the Acosta NPA document had violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act. A later Appeals court judgment called the Acosta NPA "a national disgrace". The terms of the Acosta NPA were revealed only after Bradley Edwards, the representative of two of Epstein's teenaged victims, and press lawyers successfully sued to make them public.
==== Conviction and sentencing (2008–2011) ====
On June 30, 2008, after Epstein pleaded guilty to a state charge of procuring for prostitution a girl below age 18, he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. While most convicted sex offenders in Florida are sent to state prison, Epstein was instead housed in a private wing of the Palm Beach County Stockade and, according to the sheriff's office, was, after 3+1⁄2 months, allowed to leave the jail on "work release" for up to twelve hours a day, six days a week. This contravened the sheriff's own policies requiring a maximum remaining sentence of ten months and making sex offenders ineligible for the privilege. He was allowed to come and go outside of specified release hours.
Epstein's cell door was left unlocked, and he had access to the attorney room where a television was installed for him, before he was moved to the Stockade's previously unstaffed infirmary. He worked at the office of a foundation he had created shortly before reporting to jail; he dissolved it after he had served his time. The Sheriff's Office received $128,000 from Epstein's non-profit to pay for the costs of extra services being provided during his work release. His office was monitored by "permit deputies" whose overtime was paid by Epstein. They were required to wear suits, and checked in "welcomed guests" at the "front desk". Later the Sheriff's Office said these guest logs were destroyed per the department's "records retention" rules, although the Stockade visitor logs were not. Epstein was allowed to use his own driver to drive him between jail and his office and other appointments.
Epstein served almost 13 months of his 18-month sentence before being released on July 22, 2009, for a year of probation on house arrest until August 2010. His early release after 13 of 18 months served was because he provided information regarding Bear Stearns executives Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, whose conduct was scrutinized by the SDNY court in In re Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. Securities, Derivative and ERISA Litigation, before the bank was acquired by JPMorgan Chase.
While on probation, he was allowed numerous trips on his corporate jet to his residences in Manhattan and the US Virgin Islands. He was allowed long shopping trips and walks around Palm Beach "for exercise". After a contested hearing in January 2011, and an appeal, he stayed registered in New York State as a "level three" (high risk of repeat offense) sex offender, a lifelong designation.
At that hearing, the Manhattan assistant district attorney, Jennifer Gaffney, argued unsuccessfully that the level should be reduced to a low-risk "level one" and was chided by the judge. Despite opposition from Epstein's lawyer that he had a "main" home in the US Virgin Islands, the judge confirmed he personally must check in with the New York Police Department every 90 days. Though Epstein had been a level-three registered sex offender in New York since 2010, the New York Police Department never enforced the 90-day regulation, though non-compliance is a felony.
==== Reactions ====
The immunity agreement and Epstein's lenient treatment were the subject of ongoing public dispute. The Palm Beach police chief accused the state of giving him preferential treatment, and the Miami Herald said US Attorney Acosta gave Epstein "the deal of a lifetime". Following Epstein's arrest in July 2019, on sex trafficking charges, Acosta resigned as Secretary of Labor effective July 19, 2019.
After the accusations against Epstein became public, several persons and institutions returned donations that they had received from him, including Eliot Spitzer, Bill Richardson, and the Palm Beach Police Department. Harvard University announced it would not return any money. Various charitable donations that Epstein had made to finance children's education were also questioned.
On June 18, 2010, Epstein's former house manager, Alfredo Rodriguez, was sentenced to 18 months' incarceration after being convicted on an obstruction charge for failing to turn over to police, and subsequently trying to sell, a journal in which he had recorded Epstein's activities. FBI Special Agent Christina Pryor reviewed the material and agreed it was information "that would have been extremely useful in investigating and prosecuting the case, including names and contact information of material witnesses and additional victims".
==== Sex trafficking charges ====
On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested when he returned to the US from France by the FBI-NYPD Crimes Against Children Task Force at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on charges of sex trafficking during the years 2002 to 2005. He was jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. According to witnesses and sources on the day of his arrest, about a dozen FBI agents forced open the door to his Manhattan townhouse, the Herbert N. Straus House, with search warrants. The search of his townhouse turned up evidence of sex trafficking and also found "hundreds—and perhaps thousands—of sexually suggestive photographs of fully—or partially—nude females". Some of the photos were confirmed as those of underage females. In a locked safe, compact discs were found with handwritten labels including the descriptions: "Young [Name] + [Name]", "Misc nudes 1", and "Girl pics nude". Ann Coulter alleges that the videotapes were mishandled and as a result those now in possession of the FBI may not be complete.
Also found in the safe were $70,000 in cash, 48 diamonds, and a fraudulent Austrian passport, which expired in 1987, that had Epstein's photo but another name. The passport had numerous entrance and exit stamps, including entrance stamps that showed the use of the passport to enter France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. The passport showed his place of residence as Saudi Arabia. According to his attorneys, Epstein had been advised to acquire the passport because "as an affluent member of the Jewish faith", he was in danger of being kidnapped while traveling abroad.
On July 8, prosecutors with the Public Corruption Unit of the Southern District of New York under Geoffrey Berman charged him with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex. The grand jury indictment alleges that "dozens" of underage girls were brought into Epstein's mansions for sexual encounters. Judge Kenneth Marra was to decide whether the non-prosecution agreement that protected Epstein from the more serious charges should still stand.
Epstein requested to be released on bond, offering to post $100 million with the condition that he would also submit to house arrest in his New York City mansion. US District Judge Richard M. Berman denied the request on July 18, saying that Epstein posed a danger to the public and a serious flight risk to avoid prosecution. On August 29, 2019, 19 days after Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, the case against Epstein was closed by Judge Berman. Prosecutors stated they would continue an investigation for potential co-conspirators.
==== Investigation in France ====
On August 23, 2019, the prosecutor's office in Paris, France, opened a preliminary investigation into Epstein, after Yael Mellul wrote to the Paris prosecutor to report the international dimensions of the pedophile network involving Jeffrey Epstein, criticizing the slow pace of justice. He is being investigated for rape and sexual assault of minors under and over the age of 15, criminal association with a view to committing crimes, and association with criminals with a view to committing offenses. The prosecutors said that the goal of the investigation is to find possible crimes committed in France and elsewhere against French citizens. An associate of Epstein, modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, was arrested during this investigation, but was found dead in his jail cell in 2022.
=== Birthday book release ===
In September 2025, the House Oversight Committee released a 2003 birthday album created for Epstein's 50th birthday, titled The First Fifty Years. The album contained letters and drawings from various associates.
One letter in the collection was attributed to Donald Trump, though Trump has denied writing or signing it and his legal team has challenged its authenticity. Media coverage noted that the release drew renewed attention to Epstein's political and social connections.
=== Civil cases ===
== Personal life ==
Epstein had high self-regard and rose to his peak because he was skilled at human relations: "I saw lots of people doing lots of hard work, and hard work didn't translate into success either. It wasn't what you knew or how hard you worked. In fact, the people who were doing construction on Telegraph Avenue at that time, you know, coming in at seven o'clock in the morning and spending 12 hours working, they looked like they still were neither happy nor successful, so it was not, you know, and what I learned from [my job at the] Dalton [School], lots of it in fact, turns out to not necessarily be who you are but who you came in contact with."
=== Romances and procuresses ===
Girlfriends of Epstein include Eva Andersson-Dubin and Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of British-Israeli publisher Robert Maxwell.
==== Eva Anderson-Dubin (1980s) ====
Epstein dated Andersson-Dubin for an 11-year period mostly in the 1980s and they remained friendly well after her marriage to Glenn Dubin.
==== Ghislaine Maxwell (1991–2006?) ====
Epstein met Maxwell, daughter of disgraced media baron Robert Maxwell, by 1991. Epstein had Ghislaine come to the US in 1991 to recover from her grief following her father's death. She was later implicated by several of Epstein's accusers as procuring or recruiting underage girls in addition to being, for an extended period, Epstein's chief girlfriend. At her 2021 trial, the prosecution successfully won with the statement that Epstein and Ghislaine "were predators together.. they molested kids together."
Epstein household employees testified in 2009 that Maxwell had a central role in his public and private life, referring to her as his "main girlfriend" who handled the hiring, supervising, and firing of staff starting around 1992. In 1995, Epstein renamed one of his companies the Ghislaine Corporation in Palm Beach, Florida; the company was dissolved in 1998. In 2000, Maxwell moved into a 7,000-square-foot townhouse, less than ten blocks from Epstein's New York mansion. This townhome was purchased for $5 million by an anonymous limited liability company, with an address that matches the office of J. Epstein & Co. Representing the buyer was Darren Indyke, Epstein's longtime lawyer. A picture of Epstein and Maxwell, sitting at a cabin on Queen Elizabeth II's Balmoral estate, around 1999, at the invitation of Prince Andrew, was shown to her jury to establish their status as romantic partners. In a 2003 Vanity Fair article, Epstein refers to Maxwell as "my best friend". In January 2003, for a 50th birthday gift, Maxwell assembled an album of well-wishes from his friends; among the bawdy greetings was one from Donald Trump. Two decades later, in July 2025, with Epstein files in the public spotlight, the Wall Street Journal revealed details of the album.
==== Karyna Shuliak (2010–2019) ====
Epstein's last female partner was Karyna Shuliak. He maintained his relationship even while jailed in 2019. She is "one of the largest beneficiaries" of several of his financial arrangements that continue post-mortem. She is Belarusian by birth and was nicknamed "the inspector" because of her "jealousy" and the care with which she combed through his agenda and contact list. The pair's relationship began after Epstein was released from jail in 2010 for procuring a child for prostitution and she was the last person to speak on the phone with Epstein. The couple had been together in Paris before his return to the US and his arrest as he deplaned, which she witnessed. He paid for her education as a dentist, her mother's medical care and the purchase of her parents' house in Belarus.She did not think he sounded suicidal when she spoke to him hours before his death, in a 15-minute call not logged and not recorded by his guards, as ought to have been the practice.
=== Juvenile victims ===
Virginia Giuffre said Epstein "picked vulnerable victims... By the time she was 13, she was living on the streets, where she was abused by older men. Life with Epstein provided a kind of security; he paid her, got her an apartment, and took her to New Mexico, London, Paris, Tangiers, and his island." A woman attested in a lawsuit that Epstein employed her to procure underage girls, including at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and she had witnessed a rape by Epstein.
Anouska De Georgiou, who says "Jeffrey thought that we were disposable", came to Epstein via modelling. Chauntae Davies and Rachel Benavidez came via massage services. Epstein manipulated Benavidez when they met at Zorro Ranch over two years, only to expel her from his circle when she refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Benavidez said: "He provided me with promises of continuing education and a clientele that's a world-class clientele. And that's kind of how he lured his tentacles into me."
Ruslana Korshunova was 18 when she boarded Epstein's jet on her way to his USVI residence on June 7, 2006. They were accompanied by former UFC fighter Stephanie Tidwell, his bodyguard Igor Zinoviev, personal chef Lance Calloway, and assistant Sarah Kellen, on the Lolita Express. When Korshunova was 20, she committed suicide, jumping from her apartment's balcony.
Attorney Brad Edwards, who represents more than 200 victims, notes that while Epstein sexually abused all these women and girls, only a small percentage was sent to be sexually abused by other men, who were also a select few.
=== Followers ===
Epstein was a longtime acquaintance of Prince Andrew and Tom Barrack, and attended parties with or otherwise frequented many prominent people, including Harvey Weinstein, David Copperfield, Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulos, Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Katie Couric, Woody Allen, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Lewis Ranieri, Ronald Perelman, Tom Pritzker, Naomi Campbell, and Stephen Hawking. Two printed phone directories belonging to Epstein, commonly referred to as the "black books", included Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo, John Kerry, Richard Branson, Alec Baldwin, David Koch, and Michael Jackson. These books included Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, British prime minister Tony Blair, and Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Epstein was involved with Sarah Ferguson and Maxwell maintains he bailed Ferguson out of financial difficulties. Epstein was seen at least once talking with Princess Diana; he negotiated a 1993 divorce settlement for Lynn Forester before she married Evelyn de Rothschild. Lady de Rothschild re-introduced Epstein to Alan Dershowitz; they had known each other at least since 1997, when their friendship was revealed by flight logs in 2015. Clinton and Trump said they never visited Epstein's Little Saint James island, though Clinton was listed on Epstein's flight logs at least 11 times with Sarah Kellen between 2002 and 2003; Epstein owned the island from 1998, until his death. Dershowitz claimed that "outside of his immediate family" he only showed manuscripts before they were published to his friend Epstein.
In 2014 Epstein asked journalist Michael Wolff to write his biography. Wolff, who frequented Epstein after 2014, feels that the parvenu operated a form of private gentlemen's club imbued with an air of a modern Jay Gatsby. Epstein took on a safari trip aboard his Boeing 727 jet, among others: Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker. Dr Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: the rise and fall of the House of York, remarks that Epstein circulated among his houseguests "catalogs of photographs. We know that there were books of photographs passed around Epstein's homes where powerful men could choose the [women] they wanted to meet."
Disgust with Epstein was cited by Melinda French Gates as one of the reasons for her divorce of Bill Gates, who met Epstein after he had been convicted for paedophilia. Bill Gates's relationship with Epstein started in 2011, a few years after Epstein's conviction, and continued for years. In 2021, Gates said he met with Epstein because he hoped Epstein could provide money for philanthropic work, though nothing came of it. Gates added, "It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there." Epstein was a longtime acquaintance of Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, with whom he stayed in contact for several years after his release from prison.
Political strategist Steve Bannon and Epstein were introduced not long after Bannon's 2017 ejection from the White House. Bannon met with Epstein several times at his mansion in New York. Bannon coached Epstein for a 60 Minutes interview which never occurred.
==== Pre-penal Epstein ====
Michael Wolff, who met Epstein around 2001, advised him on press relations, and told Epstein that if he wanted a low profile it would be better not to return calls from reporters and issue a standard "no comment". Epstein took the opposite tack, leading to profiles in October 2002 by New York Magazine, and March 2003 by Vanity Fair. Wolff met Epstein at a party which included Malcolm Gladwell, Steven Pinker, John Brockman (literary agent), David Rockwell. Epstein asked Rockwell to critique his architectural plans for Little St James island. These events may have occurred in 2002 when Laybourne is documented in the logs to have been a passenger between JFK and MRY. Wolff says TED conferences served Epstein as hunting grounds for interesting personalities who would otherwise have been outside his circle of acquaintance.
==== Post-penal Epstein ====
After his 2008 incarceration, Epstein was shunned by some acquaintances. Hollywood hostess Peggy Siegal helped facilitate his return to elite company through dinner parties at Herbert Straus house, and allowing his attendance at Oscar parties. Siegal, who was Epstein's connection to the entertainment world, was quoted: "He said he'd served his time and assured me that he changed his ways." But USVI Attorney-General Denise George alleged in a 2020 lawsuit that Epstein raped girls on his island as young as 11.
As socialite Anne Hearst said, if Siegal's "personally P.R.'ing you as a friend, you'll wind up at the right hand of God." Weeks after Epstein's release, Siegal got Epstein an invitation to a screening of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in a Southampton NY mansion where he met with old friend Leon Black, then-Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Rudy Giuliani. Siegal tempted Katie Couric, George Stephanopoulos, Charlie Rose, Chelsea Handler, Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn to attend a dinner organised in 2011 by Epstein for Prince Andrew; Stephanopoulos now says it was a mistake. Since Epstein's death, Siegal has been shunned by several in the film industry, as she is seen as one of Epstein's tools.
Brockman did not end his friendship with Epstein after the latter's conviction. Brockman's literary dinners, often held during the TED Conference, were, for several years after Epstein's conviction, funded by Epstein as documented in tax filings. This allowed Epstein to mingle with scientists, startup icons and tech billionaires.
==== Association with Trump ====
From the 1990s to mid-2000s, Epstein often socialized with Donald Trump. Trump, Epstein, and Tom Barrack were like a "set of nightlife musketeers" on the social scene. Epstein and Trump socialized in New York and Palm Beach, where they both had houses. In 2002 Trump remarked: "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life." In 2019, Trump said "I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him", stating four times he had not been "a fan" of Epstein and that he had not spoken to him in about 15 years. A video shot in 1992 surfaced showing them partying together at Mar-a-Lago. According to The Washington Post, someone who knew Epstein and Trump noted "they were tight...each other's wingmen".
In 2004, Epstein and Trump's friendship ran into trouble when they became embroiled in a bidding war for a $40 million mansion, Maison de L'Amitié, auctioned in Palm Beach. Trump won for $41 million, and sold it 4 years later for $95 million to billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. That was the last time Epstein and Trump were recorded to have interacted. By 2007, Trump reportedly banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club for unseemly pursuit of young girls. The ban allegation was included in court documents filed by attorney Bradley Edwards, although Edwards later said it was a rumor he could not confirm. Epstein told Wolff in 2017: "I was Donald's closest friend for ten years," and Wolff opines after Trump's election Epstein feared Trump, because over their long friendship each had accumulated information that could incriminate the other. In August 2025 The Daily Beast published an article which claimed Epstein had remained a member at Mar-a-Lago for years after the date on which Trump had claimed to cancel Epstein's membership.
==== Association with Clinton ====
In 2002, a spokesman of Clinton lauded Epstein as "a committed philanthropist" with "insights and generosity". Epstein was on the board of Rockefeller University, a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations, and a major donor to Harvard University. Epstein visited the White House while Clinton was president on four known occasions. In 1993, he went to a donor event at the White House with Maxwell. He also met with Clinton aide Mark Middleton on at least three occasions at the White House. In 1995, financier Lynn Forester discussed "Epstein and currency stabilization" with Clinton. Epstein traded large amounts in the unregulated forex market. In 1995, Epstein attended a fundraiser dinner for Clinton which included 14 other people including Ron Perelman, Don Johnson and Jimmy Buffett.
=== Notable criminal associates ===
Epstein associated with Harvey Weinstein, and they had a favourite outdoor table at a restaurant in the Hamptons. However, Epstein severed his relationship with Weinstein when the latter "acted too aggressively with one of his favorite girls".
=== Club memberships ===
Epstein was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1995 to 2009, the Trilateral Commission, the Rockefeller Institute, and the Institute of International Education.
=== Lolita Express ===
Epstein, who often is pictured with or in a Gulfstream G550 jet, owned company JEGE with which he chartered it, and owned a Boeing 727 and traveled in it frequently, logging "600 flying hours a year ... usually with guests on board". The jet was nicknamed the Lolita Express by locals in the Virgin Islands, because of its frequent arrivals at Little Saint James with underage girls. According to Vicky Ward who interviewed him in 2002 for Vanity Fair, Epstein "went berserk if you mentioned" either Steven Hoffenberg or his affinity for girls, and issued threats to harm her professional reputation:
If there's any implication of wrong doing, I will take legal action against you personally. I'm telling you so you understand. I will be as harsh as I possibly can personally … not for the magazine, but you, because I had this discussion with you. This relationship is with you.… You shouldn't risk your future for a job.
Forbes reports that between 1990 and 2001, the Lolita jet was owned by Wexner, who then transferred it for an undisclosed sum to Epstein. Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's planes. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was interviewed in the course of his 2024 bid for the presidency, and came clean about his travels with Epstein. In 2003, Epstein flew to Cuba with Colombian president Andrés Pastrana Arango at the invitation of Cuban president Fidel Castro. According the Miami Herald, Epstein was considering relocating to Cuba to evade US law enforcement.
Trump flew at least six times on Epstein's planes between 1993 and 1997. According to Michael Corcoran, Trump flew Epstein on his own airplane at least once. In September 2002, Epstein flew Clinton, Kevin Spacey, and Chris Tucker to Africa in this jet. Flight records obtained in 2016 show Clinton flew 27 times on the jet. In 2019, a Clinton spokesperson stated that, in 2002 and 2003, Clinton took four trips on Epstein's airplane, making stops on three continents, all with his staff and Secret Service detail.
=== Wealth ===
According to Forbes, most of Epstein's wealth between 1999 and 2018 came from $490 million in fees, (mainly from billionaires Leslie Wexner, $200 million, and Leon Black, $170 million) with the remaining $310 million reported as income by his companies from investment returns. Due to the US Virgin Islands' tax exemptions, his corporations saved $300 million in taxes and paid an effective tax rate of 4%, even though the top marginal tax rate was 39%. In 2025 Epstein's estate received $105 million in tax refunds.
Les Wexner was one source of Epstein's original wealth. An assistant of Epstein stated he got his fortune started through Robert Maxwell, the media mogul father of Ghislaine. When Epstein plead guilty in 2008 to soliciting and procuring prostitution, his lawyers stated he had a net worth of over a billion dollars. Several sources have questioned the extent of Epstein's wealth and his status as a billionaire. According to The New York Times, his "fortune may be more illusion than fact". Epstein lost "large sums of money" in the 2008 financial crisis, and "friends and patrons"—including billionaire Leslie Wexner—"deserted him" following his pleading guilty to prostitution charges. New York magazine claimed "there's scant proof" of Epstein's "financial bona fides", and Forbes ran an article entitled "Why sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is not a billionaire".
Spencer Kuvin, an attorney for three Epstein victims, stated that "he and his team 'pursued every possible angle' to find out Epstein's net worth but found much of it to be offshore". An investigation by the Miami Herald of the Swiss Leaks documents indicated Epstein had financial accounts with millions of dollars in offshore tax havens. In the Paradise Papers, records showed that Epstein in 1997, became a client of Appleby, a Bermuda-based law firm which specialized in the creation of offshore companies and investment vehicles. A client profile of Epstein described his job cryptically as the "Manager of Fortune".
Federal prosecutors on July 12, 2019, stated in court documents that, based on records from one financial institution, Epstein had assets worth at least $500 million and earned more than $10 million a year. The extent of his wealth, however, was unknown, since he had not filled a financial affidavit for his bail application. According to Bloomberg News, "Today, so little is known about Epstein's current business or clients that the only things that can be valued with any certainty are his properties." The Miami Herald in their investigation of the Paradise Papers and Swiss Leaks documents concluded that Epstein's wealth is likely spread secretly across the globe.
In 2020, Epstein estate's finances revealed it had paid out nearly $50 million to more than 100 women who brought claims to the "Epstein Victims Compensation Fund" set up in the US Virgin Islands. By February 2021, the estate was valued at about $240 million, down from estimates of $630 million a year earlier. This prompted the attorney general of the US Virgin Islands, Denise George, to file an emergency motion seeking the immediate asset freeze. She contended in the court filing, which the victims joined, that the estate executors had "mismanaged" the money.
=== Residences ===
In a 2003 Bloomberg interview he said: "I can't be totally wacko in what I do. It affects lots of other people who will get angry with what I do because then it affects me again. But on my own island or on my own ranch, I can think the thoughts I want to think. I can do the work I want to do and I'm free to explore as I see fit."
==== Southern District of New York ====
Epstein owned the Herbert N. Straus House on 9 East 71st Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was originally purchased for $13.2 million in 1989 by Epstein's mentor, Les Wexner, who renovated it. Epstein moved into it in 1995 after Wexner married and moved with his wife to Columbus, Ohio, to raise their family. He took full possession of the mansion in 1998, when he paid Wexner $20 million. The house was valued in 2019 by federal prosecutors at $77 million, while the city assessed it at $56 million. The mansion is reputedly the largest private residence in Manhattan at 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m2).
Hidden under a flight of stairs, there is a lead-lined bathroom fitted with closed-circuit television screens and telephone, concealed in a cabinet under the sink. The house has a heated sidewalk to melt away the snow. The entrance hall is lined with prosthetic eyeballs made in England for injured soldiers.
Previous to his final Manhattan home at Herbert Straus House, Epstein resided in a spacious townhouse, which was a former Iranian government building taken over by the State Department during the Iranian revolution, at 34 East 69th Street. He leased it for a rate of $15,000 a month between 1992 and 1995.
Before the Herbert Straus house was sold to Epstein by Wexner, Wexner purchased in 1988 the adjacent townhouse at 11 East 71st Street. As in the case of the 9 East 71st Street house, Epstein was on the deed of the 11 East 71st Street house as the trustee. The 11 East 71st Street townhouse was sold in 1996 to the Comet trust, which as of 2019 held part of the assets of the de Gunzburg/Bronfman family. That same townhouse, 11 East 71st Street, was sold in 1998 to Howard Lutnick, Trump's Secretary of Commerce since 2025, who still owns the property as of 2025.
==== US Virgin Islands ====
Epstein owned two islands in the US Virgin Islands:
a private island near Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands called Little Saint James, which includes a mansion and guest houses, purchased in 1998;
and the neighboring island of Great Saint James purchased in 2016.
It came to light after his second arrest that Epstein owned 50% of the American Yacht Harbour at Red Hook; the other half was owned by Trump associate Andrew Farkas. The partnership came about in 2007 when Epstein was having financial, regulatory and legal problems.
He structured two financial shells called Financial Trust Company (FTC) and Southern Trust around his activities there; this Trust's bank was JPMorganChase and the bank settled a lawsuit with the Attorney General there in 2022 for $105 million over allegations it helped a criminal enterprise to prosper. Epstein's Southern Trust "made fraudulent misrepresentations to the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority regarding its qualifications for Economic development corporation tax benefits." The bank said the Trust obtained $300 million in tax credits, and paid the US Virgin Islands police. Epstein's estate was nearing settlement of another lawsuit filed by the Attorney General in March 2022.
According to Forbes, the FTC generated fee income from 2000 to 2006 of $300 million. FTC's main business was attentive to Wexner. After the two men fell out in 2007 and over the next six years, the FTC generated less than $5 million. The FTC was Epstein's primary source of income for the earlier period. According to Forbes the Southern Trust was attentive to the needs of Leon Black, and this trust business was set up in 2013 as the result of discussions between the principals. Southern Trust was headquartered at American Yacht Harbour, and was a "DSB-Providing extensive DNA database & data mining" according to government filings.
In 2023, Attorney-General of the US Virgin Islands, Denise George, was fired from her job by governor Albert Bryan Jr. days after she filed charges against JP MorganChase over Epstein and his Southern Trust, which she characterized as a criminal enterprise. The wife of the Democratic governor of the USVI from 2007 to 2015, John de Jongh, was employed by the Southern Trust, in addition to being on the board of directors of the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation.
Stephen Deckoff, the founder of Black Diamond Capital Management, bought Epstein's islands in 2023 for $60 million.
==== Southern District of Florida ====
Epstein had a 14,000-square-foot, six-bedroom residence at 358 El Brillo Way in Palm Beach, Florida, which he purchased in 1990. It is two miles north of Mar-a-Lago and was bought for $18.5 million in 2021 by a property developer who demolished it and changed the address.
Ann Coulter maintains that the State Attorney for Palm Beach in 2006, Barry Krischer, treated Epstein lightly after the police investigation turned up 17 girls who signed affidavits against him. Under Krischer, the state grand jury indicted him for solitication. After Federal Attorney Alex Acosta became involved, Epstein pled guilty to procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and was punished by day-release.
==== District of New Mexico ====
Epstein had a 7,500-acre (30 km2) ranch named Zorro Ranch near Stanley, New Mexico, purchased in 1993 for roughly $12 million.
==== Southern District of Ohio ====
Epstein owned a mansion outside Columbus, Ohio, at 5025 East Dublin Granville Road near Wexner's home, from 1992 to 1998, which he purchased from his mentor. It was there that he and Maxwell molested Marie Farmer who was prevented from leaving by his security guards, though that allegation was not tested in court because of the settlement that she signed with the Epstein estate before trial. In the event, she was rescued by her father 12 hours after her illegal detention.
==== France ====
Epstein possessed seven units in an apartment building near the Arc de Triomphe at 22 Avenue Foch in Paris;
==== Palm Beach residence gallery ====
==== Manhattan residence gallery ====
=== Offices ===
Epstein rented offices for his business dealings in the Villard House at 457 Madison Avenue. Steven Hoffenberg originally set up the offices for Epstein in 1987 when he was consulting for Tower Financial. Epstein used these offices until at least 2003. Around this time, Wolff saw the financier in his office, which in the past were the offices of Random House. Wolff noted that Epstein's offices were a strange place which did not have a corporate feel. Wolff stated that the offices were "almost European. It's old—old-fashioned, unrehabbed in its way." Wolff continued that "the trading floor is filled with guys in yarmulkes. Who they are, I have no idea. They're like a throwback, a bunch of guys from the fifties. So here is Jeffrey in this incredibly beautiful office, with pieces of art and a view of the courtyard, and he seems like the most relaxed guy in the world. You want to say 'What's going on here?' and he gives you that Cheshire smile."
Epstein rented multiple apartment units for his employees, models, and guests since the 1990s at 301 East 66th Street. Most of the apartment complex at this address is owned by Ossa properties, which is owned by Jeffrey Epstein's brother, Mark, who purchased the complex in the early 1990s from Wexner.
Over the years Epstein housed friends at 11 East 71st Street, including ex-girlfriend Eva Andersson, now married to his hedge-fund friend Glenn Dubin, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He has housed some of his workers, including his pilot, housekeeper and office work staff, in the apartment complex. Epstein has housed underage girls. On August 6, 2012, a model and party promoter, who lived above another of the modeling agency's locations in Manhattan, died of what some consider to be a suspicious drug overdose.
=== Political donations ===
In 2002 Epstein said "I invest in people — be it politics or science. It's what I do". From 1989 until 2003, Epstein donated more than $139,000 to US Democratic Party federal candidates and committees and over $18,000 to Republican Party candidates and groups. Epstein contributed $10,000 to refurbish the West Wing of the White House in 1993, which bought him and Maxwell photos with Bill Clinton. He was noted for his contributions to Senators Al d'Amato and George J. Mitchell.
Epstein contributed $50,000 to Democrat Bill Richardson's successful campaign for Governor of New Mexico in 2002 and again for his successful run for reelection in 2006. He contributed $15,000 to Democrat Gary King's successful campaign for Attorney General of New Mexico. He contributed $35,000 to King's 2014 campaign for Governor. Other contributions in New Mexico included $10,000 toward Jim Baca's campaign to become head of the land commission and $2,000 toward Santa Fe County Sheriff Jim Solano's bid for reelection. In 2010, Epstein received a notice from New Mexico Department of Public Safety which said, "You are not required to register [as a sex offender] with the state of New Mexico." This was in contravention of federal law, which appears to say the conviction in Florida required him to register in New Mexico.
=== Alleged connections to intelligence agencies ===
Epstein was rumored in 2021 by Vicky Ward in Rolling Stone to be associated with intelligence agencies, and bragged to a journalist that he knew the owner of the African port of Djibouti so well that he could use it for contraband. Journalists Dylan Howard, Melissa Cronin and James Robertson linked Epstein to the Israeli Mossad in their book Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales. They relied for the most part on the former Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe. According to him, Epstein's activities as a spy served to gather compromising material on powerful people in order to blackmail them. There is a possible connection to the Mossad via Ghislaine Maxwell, whose father Robert Maxwell is said to have had contacts with the Mossad. Epstein's victim Virginia Giuffre alleged Epstein to be an intelligence asset, linking on Twitter to a Reddit page, that alleged Epstein was a spy, running a blackmail operation.
As US Attorney in Florida, the later US Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta reached a settlement with Epstein's lawyers in 2008, which allowed him to receive a light prison sentence. Acosta later reportedly stated that he was told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence" and that the issue was above his "pay grade." According to Acosta, he was pushed to give him a good deal. Former CIA Director and diplomat William J. Burns met with Epstein three times. According to a CIA spokesperson, Burns hoped that Epstein would help him "transition to the private sector."
According to the Dossier Center, Epstein had ties at least as early as 2014 to Russian civil servant Sergei Belyakov, a graduate of the FSB Academy and sometime head of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum; during this engagement he advised Russian government circles on how to circumvent western sanctions against the country. According to journalist Michael Wolff, Epstein told him he flew at least once to Moscow, in 2017, to meet with Vladimir Putin, to whom Epstein bragged repeatedly about providing services in the final decade of his life. In 2020 reportedly his Belarusian "girlfriend" had yet to be investigated by Bill Barr's FBI.
John Mark Dougan was the deputy sheriff of Palm Beach County (where Epstein was first arrested) until his dismissal in 2009. He was then recruited by Russian intelligence and worked as a disseminator of disinformation on behalf of the Russian government. According to British media reports, Dougan may have come into possession of some of Epstein's kompromat, which he allegedly copied and handed over to Russia. Other intelligence agencies may also have obtained the material.
Ghislaine Maxwell told Todd Blanche in his July 2025 prison interview of her, that tales of Epstein's involvement with intelligence agencies during her relationship with him are "bullshit". Previously Maxwell maintained that Epstein's planes were "wire-tapped" for "leverage" and in conversation with Christina Oxenberg she speculated that the audio and video recordings could potentially incriminate co-conspirators and high-profile figures who were associates of Epstein.
=== Philanthropy ===
In 1991, Epstein was one of four donors who pledged to raise US$2 million for a Hillel student building Rosovsky Hall at Harvard University. In the 1990s Epstein donated $10,000 to the White House Historical Association. In 2000, Epstein established the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, which funds science research and education. Prior to 2003, the foundation funded Martin Nowak's research at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In 2003, Epstein pledged donations totaling US$30 million to create a mathematical biology and evolutionary dynamics program at Harvard which was run by Martin Nowak. The actual amount received from Epstein was US$6.5 million. Epstein was friends with and funded Gerald Edelman, Stephen Kosslyn, Danny Hillis, and Lawrence Krauss.
In 2019, Forbes deleted a 2013 article that called Epstein "one of the largest backers of cutting edge science" after The New York Times revealed that its author, Drew Hendricks, had been paid $600 to submit it falsely as his own.
According to attorney Gerald B. Lefcourt, Epstein was "part of the original group that conceived of the Clinton Global Initiative" and in 2006 he donated $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
Epstein co-organized a science event with illusionist and skeptic Al Seckel called the Mindshift Conference. The conference took place in 2010 on Epstein's private island Little Saint James. In attendance were scientists Murray Gell-Mann, Leonard Mlodinow, and Gerald Jay Sussman. The true extent of Epstein's donations is unknown. The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation fails to disclose information which other charities routinely disclose. In 2015, the Attorney General of the state of New York was reported to be trying to gain information but was refused since the charities were based outside of the state and did not solicit in New York State. According to a New York Times investigation, an Epstein-owned charity donated $2.3 million to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak between 2004 and 2006, and invested $1 million in a partnership with Barak in 2015. It was reported that Barak met with Epstein "dozens of times" from 2013 onwards.
Epstein, besides making donations through the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, made charitable donations through his three private charities: Epstein Interest, the COUQ Foundation, and Gratitude American Ltd. According to federal tax filings, Epstein donated $30 million between 1998 and 2018, through these charities. Following his death, several scientists and institutions—including Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)—came under criticism for accepting money from Epstein, with some offering to give away money donated by Epstein.
==== Interest in eugenics and transhumanism ====
Beginning in the early-2000s Epstein developed an interest in "improving" the human race through genetic engineering and artificial intelligence, including using his own sperm. He addressed the scientific community at various events and occasions and communicated his fascination with eugenics. It was reported in 2019 that Epstein had planned to "seed the human race with his DNA" by impregnating up to 20 women using his New Mexico compound as a "baby ranch", where mothers would give birth to his offspring. He was an advocate of cryonics and his idiosyncratic version of transhumanism, and said he intended to have his penis and head frozen.
In response to the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation donations, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania said: "Scientists need funding for important work ... if the funding is for legitimate scientific work, there is nothing wrong with accepting support from a billionaire. However it would have been wrong for scientists to accept his funding if they were aware that he was planning a eugenics experiment that might draw legitimacy from his association with them." Professor George Church apologized for meeting Epstein after his 13-month sentence in 2009, saying: "There should have been more conversations about, should we be doing this, should we be helping this guy? There was just a lot of nerd tunnel vision."
== Death ==
On July 23, 2019, Epstein was found injured and semiconscious at 1:30 a.m. on the floor of his cell, with marks around his neck. His cellmate, former New York City police officer Nicholas Tartaglione, who was awaiting trial for four counts of murder, was questioned about Epstein's condition. He denied having any knowledge of what happened. Correctional staff suspected attempted suicide, but did not rule out the possibility it was staged or that he was assaulted by another inmate. According to NBC News, two sources said that Epstein might have tried to hang himself, a third said the injuries were not serious and could have been staged, and a fourth source said that an assault by his cellmate had not been ruled out. After that incident, he was placed on suicide watch. Six days later, on July 29, 2019, Epstein was taken off suicide watch and placed in a special housing unit with another inmate. Epstein's close associates said he was in "good spirits".
When Epstein was placed in the special housing unit, the jail informed the Justice Department that he would have a cellmate, and that a guard would look into the cell every 30 minutes. These procedures were not followed on the night of his death. On August 9, 2019, Epstein's cellmate was transferred out, but no one took his place. Later in the evening, contrary to the jail's normal procedure, Epstein was not checked every 30 minutes. The two guards who were assigned to check his jail unit that night fell asleep and did not check on him for about three hours; the guards falsified related records. Two cameras in front of Epstein's cell also malfunctioned that night.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York City at 6:30 a.m. EDT on August 10, 2019. The Bureau of Prisons said lifesaving measures were initiated immediately upon the discovery of Epstein's body. Emergency responders were called and he was taken to a hospital. On August 10, 2019, the Bureau of Prisons and US Attorney General William Barr called the death an apparent suicide, although no final determination had been made. The United States Department of Justice's Inspector General's investigation report released on June 27, 2023, criticized jail officials for repeated "negligence, misconduct, and outright job performance failures" in connection with Epstein's incarceration and death. It also denied the suggestion that what happened was anything other than a suicide. In May 2025, the FBI announced plans to release surveillance footage from the night of Epstein's death, aiming to address ongoing conspiracy theories. Deputy Director Dan Bongino stated that the video clearly shows Epstein alone in his cell, with no evidence of outside involvement, reaffirming the official ruling of suicide.
=== Autopsy ===
On August 11, 2019, an autopsy was performed. It appeared likely that Epstein had thrown himself violently off the cell's top bunk, which would explain the damage he suffered, other than strangulation. The preliminary result of the autopsy found that Epstein sustained multiple breaks in his neck bones. Among the bones broken in Epstein's neck was the hyoid bone. Such breaks of the hyoid bone can occur from those who hang themselves from some substantial height, e.g. jumping from a chair into the rope, but they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation. A 2010 study found broken hyoids in 25 percent of cases of hangings. A larger study conducted from 2010 to 2016 found hyoid damage in just 16 of 264, or six percent, of cases of hangings. Hyoid bone breaks become more common with age, as the bones become more brittle. Forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht noted that hanging by leaning forward would not result in broken cervical bones.
On August 16, 2019, Barbara Sampson, the New York City medical examiner, ruled Epstein's death a suicide by hanging. The medical examiner, according to Epstein's defense counsel, only saw nine minutes of footage from one security camera to help her arrive at her conclusion. Epstein's defense lawyers were not satisfied with the conclusion of the medical examiner and were conducting their own independent investigation into the cause of Epstein's death, including taking legal action, if necessary, to view the pivotal camera footage near his cell during the night of his death. Epstein's lawyers said that the evidence concerning Epstein's death was "far more consistent" with murder than suicide. Michael Baden, an independent pathologist hired by the Epstein estate, observed the autopsy. In October 2019, Baden said that Epstein had experienced a number of injuries—among them a broken bone in his neck—that "are extremely unusual in suicidal hangings and could occur much more commonly in homicidal strangulation". Baden stated that he thinks that the evidence points to homicide rather than suicide.
=== Final will ===
On August 18, 2019, it was reported that Epstein had signed his last will and testament on August 8, 2019, two weeks after being found injured in his cell and two days before his death. Until this time, Epstein had been depositing money in other inmates' commissary accounts to avoid being attacked.
=== Burial ===
Following the autopsy, Epstein's body was claimed by his brother Mark. On September 5, 2019, Epstein's body was interred in an unmarked crypt next to those of his parents at the I.J. Morris Star of David Cemetery in Palm Beach, Florida. The names of his parents were also removed from their crypt in order to prevent vandalism.
=== Investigations ===
Attorney General Barr ordered an investigation by the Department of Justice Inspector General in addition to the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, saying he was "appalled" by Epstein's death in federal custody. Two days later Barr said there had been "serious irregularities" in the prison's handling of Epstein, promising: "We will get to the bottom of what happened, and there will be accountability." On August 14, 2019, Manhattan federal court Judge Richard M. Berman, who was overseeing Epstein's criminal case, wrote to the Metropolitan Correctional Center warden Lamine N'Diaye inquiring as to whether an investigation into the millionaire's apparent suicide would include a probe into his prior (July 23) injuries. Judge Berman wrote that, to his knowledge, it has never been definitively explained what they concluded about the incident.
The national president of the Council of Prison Locals C-33, E. O. Young, stated that prisons "can't ever stop anyone who is persistent on killing themselves". 124 inmates killed themselves while in federal custody during the period 2010-2016, or 20 prisoners per year, out of an inmate population of 180,000. The previous reported inmate suicide in the MCC facility in Manhattan was in 1998. The union leader Young said it was unclear if there was video of Epstein's hanging or direct observations by jail officials. He said that while cameras are ubiquitous in the facility, he did not believe that the interior of inmates' cells was within their range. Young said union officials had long been raising concerns regarding staffing, as the Trump administration had imposed a hiring freeze and budget cuts on the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), adding: "All this was caused by the administration."
President Serene Gregg, of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3148, said MCC was functioning with fewer than 70 percent of the needed correctional officers, forcing many to work mandatory overtime and 60-to-70-hour workweeks. In previous congressional testimony, Attorney General Barr admitted the BOP was "short" about 4,000 to 5,000 employees. He had lifted the freeze and was working to recruit sufficient new officers to replace those who had departed.
Epstein's attorneys asked Judge Berman to probe their client's death, alleging they could provide evidence that the incident resulting in his death was "far more consistent with assault" than suicide. One week after having signed his final will, it had been reported that at least one camera in the hallway outside Epstein's cell had footage that was unusable, although other usable footage was recorded in the area. Two cameras that malfunctioned in front of Epstein's cell were sent to an FBI crime lab for examination. Federal prosecutors subpoenaed up to 20 correctional officers concerning the cause of Epstein's death.
On November 19, 2019, federal prosecutors in New York charged Metropolitan Correctional Center guards Michael Thomas and Tova Noel with creating false records, and with conspiracy, after video footage obtained by prosecutors revealed that Epstein had, against regulation, been in his cell unchecked for eight hours prior to being found dead. On May 22, 2021, the two guards admitted they falsified records but were spared from any time behind bars under a deal with federal prosecutors. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, on May 25, both officers pleaded guilty to falsifying records and conspiracy to defraud the United States. They were sentenced to six months supervisory release and were required to perform 100 hours of community service. On December 19, 2023, New York judge Loretta Preska ordered a list with names of more than 170 Epstein associates to be unsealed on January 1, 2024. Anyone on the list had until January 1 to appeal to have their name removed.
In February 2025, second Trump administration's Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that Jeffrey Epstein's client list was "sitting on my desk" for review, and in June Elon Musk alleged that President Trump himself was in the Epstein files. On July 8, Bondi and FBI head Kash Patel announced that there was no client list, no evidence that Epstein had blackmailed anyone, that Epstein had killed himself, and released footage showing a partial view of a common area and obscured view of the stairs leading to Epstein's cell block—though that footage was not able to be independently verified. A minute was found missing from the footage soon after, where the clock jumps from 11:58:58 to 12:00:00. A Wired investigation found that the video had been modified despite the FBI's claim that it was raw, and that nearly three minutes were cut out of the video. CBS News cited an unnamed government official, who said that the video had been deliberately edited to remove a minute, and an unedited version is in possession of the FBI.
On July 15, 2025, Rep Thomas Massie submitted House Resolution 119-581, co-sponsored by Ro Khanna, to force the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files. The same pair announced on August 12 that they would bring a number of Epstein's victims to the Capitol on September 3, the day the House returns from August vacation. Massie told ABC's Jonathan Karl that
[this motion] would force a full release of the files. It has the force of law. It's not a subpoena. It's not a pretty please would you release the files. It's the force of law.. It's emblematic of the promise that President Trump brought with him to the White House, how he energized so many people who had checked out of the political system. He was going to be the guy who holds all the rich and powerful and politically connected people accountable, and that's why there's so much disappointment right now.
On August 25, 2025, the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to Acosta requesting his testimony in the Epstein file. His name was not in the initial batch of subpoenas the committee sent out earlier in August, which included Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, William Barr, Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales. Acosta's testimony is scheduled for September 19.
On September 4 James O'Keefe published on twitter an exposé on Deputy Chief Joseph Schnitt of DOJ Special Operations, in which the latter said that there were "thousands and thousands of pages of files" relating to Epstein and that the DOJ would "redact every Republican or conservative person in those files," while also "[leaving] all the liberal, Democratic people in those files." Also on September 4 the DOJ claimed that Schnitt had no role in the Epstein case, with Schnitt himself then posting an iPhone-note to distance himself from what he said.
== In popular culture ==
Epstein's death became the subject of widespread controversy and debate, with the belief that his death was a homicide becoming a popular meme. HBO is creating a limited series on Epstein's life and death to be directed and executive produced by Adam McKay. Sony Pictures Television is additionally developing a miniseries based on Epstein's life. In the season four finale of the CBS series The Good Fight, the plot revolves around Epstein's death. The Netflix documentary series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich premiered in May 2020. The Lifetime documentary Surviving Jeffrey Epstein premiered in August 2020.
On July 1, 2020, a statue of Epstein was left outside the City Hall in Albuquerque, New Mexico as a satirical commentary on opposition to the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials. Footage of Trump and Epstein talking at the 1992 Mar-a-Lago party appears in the 2020 comedy mockumentary Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, where the footage is shown inspiring Borat to gift his teen daughter to someone in Trump's inner circle (with Borat deciding on Mike Pence, and later Rudy Giuliani). Later in the film, one of Borat's children also changes his name to Jeffrey Epstein.
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Further reading ==
=== Articles ===
Brown, Julie K. (November 28, 2018). "Even from jail, sex abuser manipulated the system. His victims were kept in the dark". Miami Herald.
Brown, Julie K. (November 28, 2018). "For years, Jeffrey Epstein abused teen girls, police say. A timeline of his case". Miami Herald.
Brown, Julie K. (November 28, 2018). "How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime". Miami Herald.
Bruck, Connie (August 5, 2019). "Devil's Advocate: Alan Dershowitz's long, controversial career – and the accusations against him". The New Yorker. pp. 32–47.
Coaston, Jane; North, Anna (July 10, 2019). "Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who is friends with Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, explained". Vox.
Sherman, Gabriel (July–August 2021). "The mogul and the monster". Vanity Fair. Vol. 730. pp. 60–65, 133–134.
Stewart, James B. (August 12, 2019). "The Day Jeffrey Epstein Told Me He Had Dirt on Powerful People". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
=== Books ===
Dylan Howard; Melissa Dylan; James Robertson: Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Simon and Schuster, 2019, ISBN 978-1-5107-5823-0.
Bradley J. Edwards; Brittany Henderson: Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Simon & Schuster, 2020, ISBN 978-1-4711-9529-7.
Barry Levine: The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Crown, 2020, ISBN 978-0-593-23718-2.
Julie K. Brown: Perversion of Justice. The Jeffrey Epstein Story. Dey Street, 2021, ISBN 978-0-06-300058-2.
Sarah Ransome: Silenced No More. Surviving My Journey to Hell and Back. HarperOne, 2021, ISBN 978-0-06-321371-5.
Whitney Alyse Webb: One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Organized Crime that Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein. Trine Day, 2022, ISBN 978-1-63424-301-8. (online)
== External links ==
Jeffrey Epstein's Little Black Book (Epstein's first discovered redacted contact book)
Jeffrey Epstein's Other Black Book (Epstein's second discovered redacted contact book)
Jeffrey Epstein Flight Logs
2007 Non-prosecution agreement
State of Florida vs. Jeffrey E. Epstein (Criminal Information, 2008) Archived September 10, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
Jeffrey Epstein collected news and commentary at The New York Times
Collected news at the New York Daily News
FBI records
Epstein Indictment
Home
Languages