Were Jeffrey Epstein’s final net worth transactions for silencing victims?

Jeffrey Epstein has remained in the news even after his death over a year ago. More gruesome details of the disgraced financier’s crimes are being uncovered after they were brushed under the rug. Alleged partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested and taken into custody a year after Epstein’s death.

But how did Jeffrey Epstein accumulate such a large net worth? What does his death mean for his victims? Here’s everything you need to know. 

Making his mark

Epstein began his career in New York City as a math teacher in Dalton School. In 1970, Jeffrey Epstein changed his profession and worked at the investment bank Bear Stearns before founding his own firm, J. Epstein and Co., in 1982. 

Epstein specifically went after clients with assets over $1 billion and became friends with powerful individuals known around the world. As Jeffrey Epstein’s social circle grew, so did his net worth.

Jeffrey Epstein was known as an eligible bachelor with a mysteriously large net worth. He liked to show off his wealth by purchasing various properties and even a private island known as Little St. James. 

Crime doesn’t pay, right?

Jeffrey Epstein has been involved in an unimaginable amount of claims regarding abuse, sex trafficking, and more from the last decade alone. Those associated with the financier have also been scrutinized after flight logs and documents featuring numerous high-profile names were uncovered. Epstein had some powerful friends, such as Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump. 

Jeffrey Epstein was also a registered sex offender. In 2008, Epstein pled guilty to felony charge of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor, and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison, of which he served thirteen.  

Epstein was later arrested in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking in New Jersey. According to the indictment that followed Epstein’s arrest, he “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations.” 

Victims described the experience with Epstein as similar to a transaction. The disgraced businessman “paid his victims to recruit additional girls to be similarly abused.”

Money talks

Forbes disputes the claims about Jeffrey Epstein’s billionaire status and instead suggests that he was actually “worth a fraction of that.” According to a will he signed two days before his death, Epstein had a net worth of $577,672,654.

It’s unclear what actions the financier took before his shocking suicide in August 2019. There are numerous theories on Epstein’s death and many believe it was orchestrated by the powerful people he had been linked with throughout his life. With a large fortune and being denied bail, could Epstein have attempted buying his victim’s silence?

It was recently revealed that billionaire CEO Leon Black sent Epstein up to $75 million after his arrest in 2008. The pair were seen socializing leading up to his arrest and many have speculated about the nature of their relationship. Billionaire Les Wexner was also known to have supported Jeffrey Epstein before cutting ties.

Recently, Epstein has been accused of forcing his victims from overseas to marry female coworkers, so they’d be granted citizenship under same-sex marriage laws. “Katlyn Doe, an anonymous victim of Epstein, claims the financier coerced her into marrying one of his female recruiters in 2013 so the woman could stay in America.” 

Epstein was reportedly using his net worth to pay an immigration attorney to seek “immigration status for Epstein’s trafficking victims.” The sex offender even organized photoshoots to make the fake nuptials appear more legitimate in the eyes of the law. 

A few days before his death, Epstein transferred his holdings to a mysterious trust, and the members are likely to never be revealed. Attorney General Denise George subpoenaed bank BNP Paribas’s New York office to help locate the late businessman’s assets for his victims. George also sent subpoenas to several other U.S.-based financial companies in the hope the documents would be released.

It’s unclear when more information will be shared surrounding Epstein’s mysterious net worth. Victims are still on the hunt for answers & justice even after Jeffrey Epstein’s death.

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Want to dive deeper into the dark & gruesome world of the late Jeffrey Epstein? Here’s our article exploring Epstein’s private island, Little St. James. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.