Questions abound about Jeffrey Epstein’s fortune & his significant connections

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I only realized about one week ago that no one really knows how Jeffrey Epstein became so rich. He wasn’t some wealthy family scion, and he only became mega-rich after university, well into adulthood. How did he make his money? And will we get an answer to that question eventually through the criminal case? That and other questions are being raised now that Epstein’s march towards criminal prosecution really begins. According to this new article in Vanity Fair, the feds are still accumulating evidence of Epstein’s crimes, and that includes statements from more than 50 victims, all of whom Epstein abused, assaulted, molested and/or raped when they were children. You can read VF’s piece here. Some highlights:

More than 50 victims: Stories of his sexual assault grows to grotesque levels—there are said to be more than 50 women who are potential victims—a wave of panic is rippling through Manhattan, DC, and Palm Beach, as Epstein’s former friends and associates rush to distance themselves, while gossiping about who might be ensnared. The questions about Epstein are metastasizing much faster than they can be answered: Who knew what about Epstein’s alleged abuse? How, and from whom, did Epstein get his supposed $500 million fortune? Why did Alexander Acosta grant Epstein an outrageously lenient non-prosecution agreement? (And what does it mean that Acosta was reportedly told Epstein “belonged to intelligence”?)

Co-conspirators & co-criminals: But among the most pressing queries is which other famous people might be exposed for committing sex crimes. “There were other business associates of Mr. Epstein’s who engaged in improper sexual misconduct at one or more of his homes. We do know that,” said Brad Edwards, a lawyer for Courtney Wild, one of the Epstein accusers who gave emotional testimony at Epstein’s bail hearing. “In due time the names are going to start coming out.” Likely within days, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will release almost 2,000 pages of documents that could reveal sexual abuse by “numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known prime minister, and other world leaders,” according to the three-judge panel’s ruling.

Epstein still had friends in high places: One source who’s done business with Epstein told me that Epstein’s 21,000-square-foot townhouse on East 71st Street welcomed a steady stream of the Davos crowd in the past decade. The source said Bill Gates, Larry Summers, and Steve Bannon visited the house, which has been called one of the largest private residences in Manhattan. “Jeffrey collected people. That’s what he did,” the source said. Gates and Summers did not respond to requests for comment.

How did Epstein make his fortune? How Epstein obtained his fortune is a matter of feverish speculation. His claim to a billionaire-only client list now seems laughable to the bankers I spoke with. One Wall Street source with direct knowledge of Epstein’s business said one source of Epstein’s income was providing “tax advice and estate planning” to rich clients, presumably because Epstein had experience with offshore funds after basing his office in the Virgin Islands…. In the absence of much other information, the reigning theory on Wall Street currently is that Epstein’s activities with women and girls were central to the building of his fortune, and his relations with some of his investors essentially amounted to blackmail.

Washington has been rocked & so has Buckingham Palace: DC is on edge. “Epstein bragged about his contacts in Washington,” Boies said. Reporters are likely to dig into why the Justice Department decided not to prosecute Epstein and kept the deal secret from his victims. One theory circulating among prominent Republicans is that Epstein was a Mossad agent. Another is that the George W. Bush White House directed Acosta not to prosecute Epstein to protect Prince Andrew on behalf of the British government, then the U.S.’s closest ally in the Iraq war. “The royal family did everything they could to try and discredit the Prince Andrew stuff,” Boies told me. “When we tried to follow up with anything, we were stonewalled. We wanted to interview him, they were unwilling to do anything.”

[From Vanity Fair]

The stuff about Prince Andrew is… disturbing. But I sort of wonder if George W. Bush – or the Bush DOJ – would actually shut down the Epstein investigation just to protect the Queen’s favorite son. I mean, really? I do believe that the palace and the Queen herself did a lot to insulate the Duke of York though.

Various female victims have been trying to get justice in civil court for years, and their lawsuits and depositions have been part of the movement to prosecute Epstein for a while now. Some of the lawyers working those civil cases are quoted throughout the VF piece and even though they’ve spent years investigating Epstein, he’s still largely a riddle, and they still haven’t figured out how he made his fortune. Everyone seems to agree that Epstein was a serial predator who has raped and abused dozens – if not hundreds – of girls. The document dump should be interesting and horrifying.

Also:

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83 Responses to “Questions abound about Jeffrey Epstein’s fortune & his significant connections”

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  1. ByTheSea says:

    New York Post today had his links to Prince Andrew and, apparently, the royals issued a strongly worded denial of his involvement with Epstein. People are running scared.

    • Incredulous says:

      I look forward to them explaining that photo of Andrew with one of the victims. I also look forward to Bill Clinton explaining how the American intelligence community is so crap they, too, had absolutely no idea so he didn’t either.

    • C says:

      “People are running scared.” I still believe he recorded those sick men (Trump, Clinton, P.Andrew etc) abusing girls…if he goes down, I hope he takes them with him.

  2. Eliza says:

    The international role of the Duke of York at the time had diplomatic immunity. After Epstein was sentenced he was basically fired. I think things would have been different if he was “just” Prince Andrew.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Yes and I think that Andrew and Epstein’s relationship was more than underage girls, Andrew likely used his contacts to help Epstein’s business. Andrew is in this over his head and I hope everything is outed. As I said before Chuck will not protect his brother – Charles will put the Monarchy first even if The Queen is still alive to see the truth about her favourite son.

      • ByTheSea says:

        They’ve already issued a strongly worded denial and are apparently tamping down the coverage in the UK, so not sure that this is true. The queen appears to be very much in charge of this.

      • Polly says:

        Unfortunately I think that for Charles, protecting Andrew and protecting the monarchy will be the same thing. If the public ever finds out the full truth about Prince Andrew and how the Queen and the “men in grey” have protected him the monarchy is finished.

      • HELEN says:

        if actual evidence comes out that the queen, buckingham palace etc. went out of their way to protect an alleged child molester, the monarchy deserves to be abolished immediately. with every single one of its members stripped of any asset. then a number of people within that institution would need to be locked the eff up.

      • Carol says:

        Prince Andrew was always problematic, it seems, when it comes to women. He didn’t get the moniker “randy andy” for nothing. I believe he is totally enmeshed with Epstein and feel for Andrew’s daughters. How horrible would it be to find out your dad was part of a ring that took advantage of underaged girls.

  3. boredblond says:

    I don’t know what will come out today but I do know that by not confiscating his computer day one, officials allowed a lot of evidence to be destroyed, and the questions will remain

    • lisa says:

      I work for a digital-forensic-related company and the data is never gone. It can be overwritten and they can attempt to permanently delete, but data will still be retrieved. And, it can be retrieved instantly, remotely, through a wifi connection, so they don’t even have to confiscate the device anymore.

  4. a says:

    Disgusting. I wonder who this prime minister is? He seems to be mentioned a lot and in a separate bracket from other politicians, too.

  5. Quackadilly Blip says:

    The footage of Trump oogling that woman is so disturbing.

  6. OriginalRose says:

    Does anyone want to start an all female Island somewhere with me? Like at the beginning of Wonder Woman? I’ve got news fatigue, I’m genuinely so sick of the patriarchy. I wanna tear it all down and start again

    • ByTheSea says:

      Not to be a downer, but the island will be just as bad. I’m an Afro-Latina lawyer working for a Latinx organization and have had heartbreaking comments made to me and about me (about other black people, about “bad hair”, about the need to outsource legal work because judges will only listen to white or Jewish men, etc.) by the people who are supposed to be more closely aligned to my interests. Give any group power and they will abuse it.

    • Mitzy says:

      I hear you!!!! Recently I had an accident and was bedridden and housebound for pretty much 6 weeks. In that time I didn’t listen to the news on the radio, read a newspaper or watch anything on TV. I have never felt so peaceful. Being out of touch with all this sh!t was a delight.

    • Amanduh says:

      Jeffrey Epstein had Ghislaine Maxwell (a woman) working for him as a recruiter for a very long time. Being a woman does not make you immune to being a disgusting, abusing piece of s$*t unfortunately 🙁

      • SomeDay says:

        I’m stuck on the Ghislaine Maxwell collusion as well… What a cruel evil POS- she even called one girl’s mother as reassurance. GM is now a “save the ocean” spokesperson….She needs as much blame as her monster mastah- May she become an equally visible face of deserved hatred!!!

    • Diplomanatee says:

      Count me in for the island, OriginalRose!

      ByTheSea, latina here, we sure have a lot of colonialism and colorism ingrained in our minds, but we also are in dire need for a safe space to really look at those issues.

      I’ll bring the good tequila.

  7. adastraperaspera says:

    I’ll take “Pimp and Money Launderer” for $400, Alex.

    • minx says:

      Exactly. He connected rich people with very young girls and was rewarded for it.

    • Christin says:

      The source of his lifestyle really isn’t hard to figure out, is it?

    • Becks1 says:

      Yup. It seems pretty obvious.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      winner winner chicken dinner.

    • Tiffany says:

      DING DING DING !!!!!

      And lets add good old fashioned human trafficking to this.

      • MJO says:

        Let’s call the island and the Manhattan townhouse what they are: Luxurious Brothels. I wonder if some of those starstruck 15 year olds would have entered the door if someone told them the truth — you’re going to a whorehouse, honey.

      • Ashley G says:

        MJO unfortunately before Taken I don’t think many girls were aware of human trafficking. I’m sure a lot of gross men got a way with a lot more when girls didn’t know such a thing existed. Girls today still don’t realize. It’s really weird to think some of these men with daughters would have taken advantage of little girls. I’m not saying men without should be excused but how do you go home and look into the eyes of your daughter and be okay with having sex with little girls? What is wrong with you????

  8. Christin says:

    This guy has been in the rumor mills for years, yet prominent people kept hanging around him.

    This article further confirms that there is likely a massive iceberg yet to be uncovered. Bad Dancer Donny, Slick Willie and Randy Andy are likely just a tiny sliver of the bigger picture.

  9. Mia4s says:

    Oh my questions have questions about all this. I hope there is absolute terror in Washington, Hollywood, and yes, the Monarchy. Burn it all to the ground.

  10. Bunny says:

    Within a few hours of Epstein’s arrest Saturday, Christine Pelosi, an elected member of the DNC, and Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, tweeted, “This Epstein case is horrific and the young women deserve justice. It is quite likely that some of our faves are implicated but we must follow the facts and let the chips fall where they may — whether on Republicans or Democrats”.

    I had the sinking feeling that she probably has pretty good idea about the depth and breadth of this thing. Not that she’s involved, just that she’d be in a position to see and hear and know things.

    This is going to hit all sides of the political spectrum hard.

    Justice for the victims. Exposure and punishment for the guilty.

    • ByTheSea says:

      She is most definitely aware, but–trust–this will be covered up, just like everything else. Trump controls everything now. The House is spinning their wheels; they can’t even get his people to testify. If Trump is involved (spoiler: he is), it will be covered up.

      • Tushy says:

        This isn’t about Trump anymore. Not to mention Democrats really can’t afford to take a single lick right now. I don’t think anything will be covered up. I think Trump will beat this drum and keep every entangled person front and center and use his compliance in the first case years ago and his banning Epstein from mar-a-largo as proof of his innocence.

        I think this is terrible for the victims, but I also think its conveniently timed with the election and Trump knows a lot of politicians are involved and it will cause the chaos to get him reelected. The Republicans can take a few casualties, Democrats can’t. They already have long since broken ranks and can’t even get along with eachother. More instability in the Democrat party will ensure his win.

      • lisanne says:

        Tushy, do you have some inside information on who was involved? Because if you don’t, your post does not make sense. You are basically claiming that Trump has a clean record here, and that some prominent Democratic elected/former elected officials do not. Let’s see what comes out; we may all be surprised.

  11. gingersnaps says:

    The BRF is still trying to operate business as usual, nothing to see hear, go on your merry way.
    I wanted to barf when I saw pedo andy’s mug on twitter when his account posted about his involvement in the cricket world cup which the queen’s account retweeted. Yuck.

    • Arnk says:

      The fact that the queen has covered for him all these years is disgusting. She is beyond shady and I wonder how long it will take for people to realize that and stop worshipping her for being so dutiful.

      • gingersnaps says:

        Hopefully when a lot of people realise this and how she and the entire brf has covered up for him and kept it quiet that there will be a public uproar.

      • Christin says:

        People sometimes attribute better qualities to an older person, simply because of their age. Not every very elderly person is nice and/or trustworthy.

      • minx says:

        Co-sign this. She’s protected her POS son at all costs. No admiration from me.

    • OriginalLala says:

      Yet another reason to get rid of the whole damn lot of them – protecting a pedo whilst living off the backs of others.. eff them.

  12. erin says:

    I highly recommend that anyone who is interested listen to the “Behind the Bastards” episode about him. It goes in-depth and is like 2hr long about this horrible dude.

  13. Jennifer says:

    This guy is who people are talking about when they speak of Illuminati pedophile rings. They aren’t lizard people or Satanic magick worshippers or whatever…but the stories of sexual abuse of children by certain members of the “ruling elite” are true. And that is terrifying.

  14. SamC says:

    How he got the connections is SUCH a mystery. He’s a two time college dropout, neither an Ivy, but somehow got hired at an uber exclusive private school, where tuition at the time was probably $10-20k/year, as a teacher. Seems like those few years at Dalton is where he really started meeting the influential and wealthy.

    • adastraperaspera says:

      Yes, and he was hired at Dalton by Donald Barr–who is (you guessed it), the father of corrupt AG William Barr. The plot thickens…

      • SamC says:

        That’s right! I knew there was some current DOJ connection but couldn’t remember who.

      • Agenbiter says:

        Another coincidence: Guess which high school Mariel Hemingway’s character in Woody Allen’s Manhattan attended. That film came out a few years after Epstein’s involvement with Dalton.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        There’s something so wrong about that moment in hiring. It makes zero sense.

    • A says:

      K, I didn’t know that he was hired at Dalton by Donald Barr. I know the degrees of separation between all of these rich people are minuscule, but this is totally something else.

      • Frrrrrench says:

        Barr’s father worked at the school but left before Epstein started. Don’t let wild untrue conspiracy theories spread – it dilutes the truth.

      • The Other Katherine says:

        Per the NYT, “In February 1974, Mr. Barr had announced that he was resigning as headmaster, protesting the meddling by the board of trustees, but that he would stay on until the end of the school year. It is unclear whether Mr. Barr hired Mr. Epstein during that time.” The article goes on to say, “The school’s student newspaper reported in September 1974 that he was starting that year as a math and physics teacher.”

        So his hiring might well have been arranged prior to the summer holidays, while Donald Barr was still headmaster.

  15. Sue Denim says:

    I think too many people (not here) think the royal family is all tea and fancy hats, but in research I’ve been doing on the 1600s, they were key in the invention and expansion of slavery… I can’t look at them without seeing that, plus the overall mediocrity, the lack of any real talent or intellect through the years, the silly costumes w medals and sashes… It’s like Tom Cruise at CoS events, or tin pot dictators… With Brexit looming, and now this, plus the utter lack of charisma (imo) among the current lot of them (aside from Harry and Meghan and maybe a few others), I can’t see the institution lasting after QEII’s reign….

    • tuille says:

      Generations of inbreeding does not produce terrific results.

    • Christin says:

      How soon people forgot how fragile the monarchy was when Diana died. It took a public outcry before the Queen could even be bothered to read a prepared statement.

  16. Burdzeye View says:

    I think the Queen truly believes that Andrew is innocent of these crimes. He will have convinced her that these accusations are all false. I for one would love to see ALL of the people involved in these horrific crimes being brought to Justice but in reality its highely unlikely that will happen. The people who move in these circles protect each other at all costs.

    • Diplomanatee says:

      One can only dream of a just world where no one will be able to buy their way out of this.

  17. maggi says:

    I’m having some cognitive dissonance when I read about this POS
    Part of me is deeply horrified at the degree to which this man has profited from human trafficking to the wealthy and the magnitude of trauma left in his wake
    But the other part of me can only see “Mac the Night”, that character from McDonalds back in the 90’s
    He is a caricature in all ways, a literal and figurative embodiment of the fall of the empire

  18. Tiffany says:

    Bail….DENIED !!!!!

  19. Lynne says:

    Hope this azz wipe doesn’t make bail cause he will run. He has the funds and means

  20. YES! says:

    BAIL IS DENIED!!

  21. Ann says:

    Y’all might need to do an update on this post because BAIL HAS BEEN DENIED!!!! This evil, SOB scumbag is going DOWN!

  22. YES! says:

    In his decision, Berman said that Epstein was a danger to himself and others and therefore should not be released. “I find that the government has established danger to others and to the community by clear and convincing evidence,” he said, noting that “I doubt that any bail package can overcome danger to the community.”

  23. Sean says:

    Now that Epstein has been denied bail, I fully expect him to have an “accident” or “commit suicide” while in custody.

    • Diplomanatee says:

      I hope not! Let’s hope he gets to talk and talk and take everyone down with him.
      I like to think that many awful people are shaking in their seats right now.

  24. ale says:

    I don´t know why people seems shocked with the Epteins allegations. On CDAN there has been several blinds about this pig and his pals. I am so glad people are finally discovering the truth.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      CDAN is not a good source for information. These crimes have been known for a while, but especially since the Miami Herald started released their report in Nov. 2018.

  25. JRenee says:

    Seems like he’s in the middle of a bunch of poop.
    Damn, Bill Gates entertained or did business with this guy?
    Yeah, people know he’s the lynchpin to a lot of secrets. Expose them all and put him on suicide watch…

  26. MaryContrary says:

    I guess I’m extremely cynical, but I think he’s going down and that’s it. He’s not going to turn on anyone, and I doubt any of these other people lose their livelihoods or reputations. The people at the top protect each other-look how they overlooked his initial sentencing. He continued to move in the same circles. Should all of these people be prosecuted and justice be served? Of course. Will that happen? No.

    • Diplomanatee says:

      BUT, the tapes he used to blackmail people for money COULD still be found, implicating anyone he ever sold girls to.

      • MaryContrary says:

        Perhaps but I bet the ones of the big fish (Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, et al) will be non-existent.

  27. Incredulous says:

    I just heard Alan Dershowitz is so not mad at the New Yorker and their upcoming article on him that he’s got a totally not mad or scared article on Newsmax. I think he’s forgotten the prudence part of jurisprudence. (Also, he’s probably toast)

  28. A says:

    I still maintain that there’s some type of intelligence connection at hand with Jeffrey Epstein and his position in society. I didn’t fully believe it before, and I still think a lot of aspects of it are far fetched, but I do think he was recruited for a specific purpose by some intelligence agency, and his “billionaire financier” job title is a cover for something else.

    • Diplomanatee says:

      I haven’t read much about this angle so far… it sounds really interesting, could you elaborate?

      • A says:

        I don’t think there’s a heck of a lot of concrete evidence for it, more like a bunch of disparate elements that make one go ‘hmmm.’ If you’ve read Vicky Ward’s VF article from 2003, there’s a point when she mentions that a handful of his friends from the early 80s said he used to say his job was to be a “bounty hunter,” recovering large sums of money for the government or rich people that had been stolen from them.

        More notably, there’s the recent Vicky Ward article in The Daily Beast, where she explicitly states that Alexander Acosta cut the non-prosecution plea deal because he was told that, (quoting from the article here) ‘Epstein was above his pay grade. “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence’ and to leave it alone,” he told his interviewers in the Trump transition.’

        Then there are the people that Epstein is connected with. Ghislaine Maxwell is the daughter of Robert Maxwell, and he was known to have had connections with intelligence agencies around the world. Epstein is also on the board of organizations like the Trilateral Council and the Council on Foreign Relations, both of which deal with foreign affairs. He worked for Stephen Hoffenberg as a consultant for Tower Financial Corporation, which was busted as a Ponzi scheme–Epstein was never charged for his involvement. He was introduced to Hoffenberg through a defense contractor, and John Mitchell, US Attorney General.

        I should say that this stuff ought to be taken with a grain of salt, because as I said, it’s mostly just disparate details that are swirling around. But taken in conjunction with the ginormous question mark behind his meteoric rise, I think it’s worth considering at least a little. I don’t think he’s some massive secret agent or anything, but I do think that he’s almost too perfectly positioned to do intelligence work, and that for sure makes me go “Hmm.”

    • The Other Katherine says:

      A spot of blackmail material (or hints that such may exist) no doubt can be useful in diplomacy. He was perfectly positioned to provide that. Barf.

  29. aquarius64 says:

    I’m glad this animal was denied bail. SONY is no joke. I think this creep will rat some people off to get a reduced sentence.