The list of Epstein’s “co-conspirators “ so far is shocking, and more to come. The pressure to silence Epstein must be great.
One thought, can Trump issue a pardon?
17
"With Leslie H. Wexner, a retail magnate, Mr. Epstein formed a financial and personal bond that baffled Mr. Wexner’s longtime associates." Baffling indeed. What could they possibly have had in common?
42
If he did not tutor son of Alan Greenberg maybe he would still be a teacher, praying on our daughters?
9
I’d guess he’s not a religious man.
30
Why am I not surprised? If the president of the United States can create a megamillion dollar aura around himself, based on smoke-n-mirrors, plus 400 million dollars from his daddy, why shoujldn't Jeffrey Epstein invent a similar fairy tale of his own?
Sadly, this is the very dark side of the American Dream. And there are many, many soulless, shameless jackals in this country who continue to foist their fake stories upon us. Seems the bigger, more outrageous the lies, the more they are believed.
53
To better understand the near instant affinity between Epstein and Wexner, it might be worthwhile investigating Mr. Wexner’s affinity for little girls. #MeToo
41
And what a great two mentors he had according to NYTimes...
How could it go so wrong???
8
Wow, the crooks are really crooked and like birds, really like to flock together...
Great men (and women) all, pillars of our community and self-made giants of industry!
(Just don't let them get too near the children...)
11
Trump and Epstein are two degenerate twins in everything, simply nauseating.
37
This must be worse news to him than a raft of New York prosecutors.
7
Fake billionaire, sexual predator...could be the next president...just pretend to be a conservative
41
What's the deal with Epstein's connections to AG Barr?
It was mentioned a few days ago when Epstein was first charged by SDNY on new charges of child sex assaults and rapes there.
17
If we postulate that Donald Trump was financed by the Russian mob through Deutsche Bank when no others bank would touch him, then Epstein, with a very similar background of financial problems and shady connections, fits the same mold. Both men are very well protected by some very powerful forces and refuse to disclose where their money comes from. In Epstein’s case, his alleged sex trafficking ring seems like the perfect way to blackmail other wealthy men into silence. A classic Russian honey trap scenario that has been used successfully by the KGB and Putin’s FSB for many years. Coincidence? Not likely.
52
Thanks to US Attorney Berman, for having the courage, morality, and apolitical sense to reopen this terrible monstrosity that compromised all of us in that it let a very dangerous man walk free.
28
Firstly, does this wretched human being deserve all this attention? Have we become so naive and lacking in healthy cynicism that this story is so surprising? Our collective fealty to the wealthy and the beautiful is actually the horrifying part of this story.We no longer care who one is as opposed to what one is,and what one has. We are too easily distracted by shiny objects.
9
I hope he's denied bail. I'm worried about all those pictures found in his NY house that could very well be new victims. They might feel safer and come forward to the prosecution to testify if they know he's behind bars.
21
@Pat
Who is going to provide protection to the hundreds of underage girls (children) and women who’ve been raped, abused, often violently, and threatened should they expose these bloated, old perverts.
Trump is seriously implicated through association, lies and cover up.
Is there anyway to drag this POTUS out of the White House?
17
Deutsche Bank, again.
49
Yes we should all focus on how rich or poor this pedophile is. Not at all the point here. Why is the media so obsessed over billionaire vs multi millionaire vs whatever. Shows what is wrong with the media. The victims are disrespected by everyone of these articles.
7
Nice hair ! I guess that’s about it,
1
His actual capital may be a vault full of pictures.
It's gotten him this far.
24
Aside from their lying and taste in females, Trump and Epstein seem to share accounting services. No surprise here.
23
So.. just like Trump.... a fake billionaire.
The first thing wealthy narcissists learn is how to hang paper and boasts in a manner that makes them appear bigger financially then they actually are. It's simply a more refined deployment of "the grift".
25
Only a white male could have no college degree and become a gazillionaire. Meanwhile, women and people of color need six degrees to make a short list and then are passed over for the white dude with connections. Some meritocracy.
41
So what "repetitional risk" to Deutsche Bank did Mr. Epstein pose? Knowing the details might lead to some very interesting interesting individuals, purposes and means.. that the public would enjoy knowing.
14
Miami herald starts re-examining the case .......why didn’t someone at the DOJ?.....SDNY saves the day. Now the FBI should completely examine Acosta and all transactions around 2008. Like many have said ....follow the money . I love when justice gets served .
18
So Epstein is a blackmailer/extortionist?
12
With any luck, another nail in Deutsche Bank’s coffin. Shut Deutsche Bank down!
20
We could say of him what former New York City Mayor and brilliant philanthropist billionaire Michael Bloomberg said I these exacts words, “I’m from New York and I know a con when I see one”. Trump s Epstein appear to be birds of a feather. Yes Epstein of course must have his defense as he should but he’s a fake. Probably knows Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani. Is there a fake, crazy con society? Avenetti could be there too. What a mess.
25
Yet another thing he has in common with Trump. No wonder they get along so well
16
This guy taught math in high school? I'm sure there are going to be news stories about his female students.
23
Does he have kids in college? We know how that would work. $!
3
Deutsche Bank: Scandal is our Business!
From tax evasion to LIBOR, to the financial crisis of 2007, to breaking US sanctions to do business with Burma, Libya, Sudan, Iran, and Syria, to money laundering for the Trump family, Deutsche Bank is inevitably involved in the shadiest of financial transactions, worldwide. Of course this is the bank of choice for pervert, pretend billionaires.
36
Like someone else we know too well
13
This man is a pimp of extraordinary power and monumental depravity. Whether he, like so many, committed crimes even more depraved will hopefully come to light.
17
Does it really matter how much money Epstein has? Hundreds of millions or more than billion, it still boils down to the issue of the girls he molested and raped and the fact that they were unable to give consent for sexual activity. There's little reason to believe it's not true, given his former, if light, jail sentence.
But, because he claims to have two private jets and a lot of money, he needs to sit in jail until his trial. He's both a flight risk and a risk to young girls.
10
Seems as if Deutche Bank is heavily involved with every rich fraud that comes along...including Trump. They somehow became the only bank that would lend money to Trump even though he was suing them at the time. This bank should be turned inside out to find every corrupt player that did business with them....especially Trump.
32
Given whats on the table here, does it really matter if he has 100 million or a billion? The guy is a bad bad guy..... The fact that his wealth isn't as great as he says is the least of his misdeeds.... And you have to wonder if the people who befriended him were more attracted to his wealth or his other lecherous behaviors.... Perhaps both, but maybe the wealth wasn't the most attractive thing....
13
Informative article but ignoring the Donald Barr angle of this story is odd and perplexing. Seems like a lot of media outlets are either ignoring this part or minimizing it. Why?
16
if you want to find the means for Epstein's ventures, examine Acosta's history of financial transactions. Follow the money.
19
Ugh, Deutsche Bank. Again. Oh, and the Dalton School job that Epstein got in the 70s was courtesy of the father of the current Attorney General, William "Anything For Trump" Barr. Sleaze upon sleaze upon sleaze, ad infinitum.
It's not even the sleaze itself that shocks me at this point, but how incredibly intertwined all the sleaze is. And has been, for what appears to be decades. We're buried under an impenetrable crust of international, intergenerational sleaze perpetrated by the same people and their associates and families for ever and ever, no end in sight. We're never going to get out from under this. I'm just revolted beyond words.
37
If anyone is safe from allegations he went after underage girls, its Les Wexner. Ask anyone in Columbus, Ohio.
9
Hmmm, that's a business technique straight out of the Trump playbook. But how many casinos has he run into the ground?
5
These are the Job Creators that CNBC and Fox keeps telling Americans we should worship.
Along with the Trumps and the Kushners, just seems like a bunch of low empathy con men, always two steps ahead of any financial regulators. Who has been watching these people?
We have lost the rule of law. We have been corrupted for 39 years, we just didn't know it until now.
26
Seems that he spent a lot of time trading currencies....nice liquid way to launder money...and so what if it had to be hidden in real estate llc transactions or $9999 in cash at a time.
4
Just to paraphrase Honore Balzac
" behind every fortune there is a
con man". They have their time of
fame, luxury and sexual escapades
but eventually end up in a slammer.
Ivan Boesky, Raja Ratnam, Hoffenberg,
Mike Milken, Bernie Madoff, J. Epstein,
et al make up hall of shame. Wonder what lesson they including Mr. Trump are conveying to the young men.Conning, lying, defrauding, cheating are the way to life of luxury
and debauchery.If you are networked
with the powerful and money to hire
the best lawyers you can get away with
anything and if caught spend time
confined to reasonably comfortable
place. Our overwhelming emphasis on
money as the worth of men and inclination to look at the rich with awe and admiration drive many to resort to
bad behavior.
18
Is the mansion paid for, free and clear?
Did I read it is titled to an LLC?
If so, Is he in named as head or, or just a part of, said LLC?
Billionaire or not, if that housing is 100% paid for and belongs to him and he (or his LLC) can pay the property taxes (which I really would like to know what they are!) ... he's uber-wealthy.
2
P. T. Barnum. Jim Bakker. Bernie Madoff. Elizabeth Holmes. Charles Ponzi. George C. Parker. The Enron guys. Epstein. Our so-called “President.” And hundreds more.
American high schoolers should be required to take two classes on: 1. Personal Finance 2. White Collar Crime and Fraudsters.
Then maybe our country wouldn’t be so full of people unable to manage their own income and so tolerant of these high-brow criminal grifters.
Meanwhile, we bicker over whether healthcare is a human right, let our school teachers buy poor kids lunches, overtax the middle class and persecute lower income people for traffic tickets and petty offenses.
40
@Pencilskirt
Amen!
6
Epstein is no Gatsby. He’s a low rent crook whose PR reps are saying: don’t sue, there’s no money.
7
Easy to imagine how he started down this path. Teaching math to the children of the rich and powerful, resentful of their wealth. Why shouldn’t he be enjoying the same lifestyle they have?
11
Mr Epstein is cast as a despicable wretch whose wealth is inexplicable.However upon reading articles about his business ventures, the list is long of famous successful people who seemed to have thought nothing of associating their name to his, and this even during his serving time back in 2008, and afterwards to this day.
This leads us to wonder about the society we have built and the values at its foundations.The amount of wealth accumulated or just projected, seems to guide many people's choice on whom to be seen with.
Deutsche Bank kept this "lucrative" client even after its own compliance officials signal a high reputational risk to the bank.
The disease as often goes way beyond the first diagnosed patient. Mr Epstein is one more canary in the mine which we choose to ignore for what it actually says about us.
The prosecution in New York seen in this context raises many questions:why him ,why now? These questions will probably not be addressed and mr Epstein is the latest illustration of the Roman proverb about the Tarpeian rock being close to the Capitol.
21
Why now? I’m not sure of the timeline. There are however serious accusations from women he may have victimized when they were children. His association with Trump is clear.
9
He got billionaire justice in Florida when it turns out he only rated millionaire justice. Now he'll have to pay the difference. How unfortunate for him.
27
Seems like Deutsche Bank's private banking business does not really have any business ethics or cares if it breaks the law. So may numerous dubious clients (Trump for one), unabated money-laundering violations, LIBOR rate rigging, questionable derivatives trading and private lending practices - you name it! If we could bar certain Middle East and Japanese banks for the same offenses from ever operating in the US, why cant we bar Deutsche bank? Can someone please tell me?!
26
Epstein, like Jay Gatsby and Donald Trump, seems to be right out of an American tradition of ostentatious frauds. It's interesting that there is not more talk about the fact that he came out of Bear Sterns. It was one of the first investment banks to fail during the Great Recession, because it had taken derivatives to such excess, and which, 20 years earlier, had been driven by Michael Milliken, who went to jail over insider trading.
295
No one can talk about that anymore. It is truly amazing.
5
I knew both Milkin’s protege (the boyfriend of a close friend) and the head of his Foundation who frequented Princeton circles, as did the heirs of Bear Stearns.
It was a rude awakening. The graft, the complicity with obvious fraudsters and the tolerance for despicable behavior all because they were backed by wealth, and Episcopalian no less, was horrifying.
But then “This is America.”
43
@H.A. Hyde I gave up on the Episcopalian religion about 12 years ago.
6
Interesting. It seems that maintaining enormous wealth requires continuously reinvesting one's crumbling wealth into new high risk and many times illegal ventures. Using other people's money by gaining access to their confidence also seems a requirement. The common thread in wealth accumulation somehow always involves real estate as it becomes the foundation on which one build's the fraud and illusion.
219
@Loud and Clear
As despicable a person as Mr. Epstein is, I have seen zero evidence that he did anything criminal in his business dealings. You haven't heard stories of him stiffing his creditors or of investors losing money with him.
10
yes he’s dissimilar to trump in this regard
13
Does it not bother you that no one in the financial business (hedge fund managers, etc) seems to know where his money came from? And he doesn’t even have the fig leaf of a real estate empire to hide behind.
61
Just as in the case of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos infamy, once a person gets to rub shoulders or seed hints of inner-circle membership with high level folks in government or industry, whether or not true, the natural skepticism of the stories about wealth and access no longer get vetted with the same enthusiasm.
One should recognize this immediately as the mark of a true con man (or woman in the case of Theranos) and yet we believe rumors rather than facts.
I would suggest that much of the illusion of success is planted as it is earned. And no one wants to admit to the newspapers nor friends that they got taken in, loosing huge sums, and therefore the alarm seems not to be sounded for others to be cautious.
Greed and saving face will affect many in the financial circles, Deutsche Bank included.
349
@reid Even the businesses for the 99% aim for the illusion of success, although of course nowhere near the scale of an Epstein or Trump. My ex worked for a local real estate firm. The first thing he did was go out and buy a $50 Mont Blanc pen, which was, and still is, an obscene amount of money to pay for pen, even though nobody uses them much anymore. Then he was presented with his business cards, which had him, the newest member of the company, listed as a Vice President, because no prospect looking to lease office space wanted to deal with a mere salesman. Expensive shoes, watch and other accessories, a designer haircut and a membership in an eating club and you looked rich and successful even though you could barely pay the rent and the bank was threatening to repossess your car.
111
$50 is not obscene for a pen. Add a zero?
9
@Bashh-“Fake it ‘til you make it” sadly is a requirement in most industries, it seems. However, I think the Trumps and Epsteins of this world are more into laundering money for the very wealthy and providing illicit and illegal services and partaking of said services. Alexander Acosta, William Barr seems to be personal lawyers for these crooks and Deutche Bank is the big laundromat.
40
The article focuses on doubt about financial worth. But there is no doubt that people like Epstein are very valuable for other reasons. They are fixers, connectors, and charismatic avatars of the power class. They have character and history issues that make them subservient and very useful foils for those with true wealth and undeniable power. These people insulate, provide sacrificial protection, and are typically destroyed and discarded when it becomes in the interests of the powerful to do so. But they never achieve actual power; they just bask in its glow for a while.
Jeffrey Epstein is another greedy rube showing us the corruption that is rife within the wealthiest and most powerful segments our civilization. As his usefulness ended, he is now alone.
469
Some people,
Thank you. You have beautifully articulated a description of our Commander in Chief.
136
A bizarre mashup of PT Barnum, Jay Gatsby and Humbert Humbert.
61
@Some People
Sounds like you're describing all the people connected to the Trump administration.
73
The last three paragraphs of this story are amazing. So Deutsche Bank compliance officers warned that Epstein posed a reputational risk to the bank but were overruled because he was a lucrative client. Just like a recent story about internal warnings that were ignored by the bank about foreign transfers from Trump and Kushner accounts to overseas accounts. Is there anything these people won't turn a blind eye to all in the name of profits?
339
@Sandy The U.S. should take a lesson from Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca." Even he kicked the Deutsche Bank guy out of his casino.
36
@Sandy
NO, there is nothing, there is never enough profit.
22
@James L. Right, where's Rick Blain when we really need him?
15
I don’t care how much money the man has or pretends to have. What is truly disturbing about Epstein’s story is that he had the “taste for young girls” reputation for so many years, yet people still called him “brilliant” (a descriptor this newspaper, oddly, continues to use) and spoke of him with praise and vied to be be part of his social group. Such a great guy! If a woman financier had behaved as he did, she would have long since been pilloried, ostracized, probably imprisoned.
Instead of using that vaguely flattering photo of the man, all publications and protesters should make use of his latest (shocking) mugshot. Epstein looks like the bum he is. I hope he enjoys his prison cot. No Italian linens in stir.
275
@Passion for Peaches
Trump and Epstein do have a lot in common, private as well as in business.
39
@ARL Other than they both own a private plane, no they don’t.
1
@Passion for Peaches: It is so banal: A "bad boy" has visible wealth and high life.
Others with similar predilections, have something each to hide--big time.
So: play along. Turn a blind eye, and and protect the "bad boy" to protect oneself.
Meantime, the partying is "awesome"--no one cares about who gets hurt.
Repeat.
5
The illusion of Jeffrey Epstein in a nutshell:
“appears to have been doing business and trading currencies through Deutsche Bank until just a few months ago”
“he rubbed elbows with the powerful”
“he promoted himself as a financial wizard who used arcane mathematical models”
“Much of that appears to be an illusion, and there is little evidence that Mr. Epstein is a billionaire.”
Besides having eerie similarities to the guy in the White House, especially regarding Deutsche Bank, it appears as if Epstein had orchestrated an extremely convincing Ponzi scheme of influence and deception on many wealthy billionaires. Even while various alarms had gone off, i.e., Robert Morosky’s statement, “Everyone was mystified as to what his appeal was. I checked around and found out he was a private high school math teacher, and that was all I could find out. There was just nothing there.” people continued to trust him.
Hopefully this article's illuminating information will allow some hope to enter into the dark abyss that had allowed Epstein to roam freely for over 11 years as a predator. Perhaps he no longer possesses the clout, resources or influence he once had which allowed the brokering of such an outrageous plea deal. Maybe this time Epstein and his pals will be brought to real justice and do hard time.
536
@Marge Keller
To that, add the connection to Bill Barr. AG Barr's father hired the 20 year old college dropout, Epstein, to teach math at Dalton to young kids. Then he fired him. Then Barr quit Dalton suddenly. ( see article NYT archives)
126
@karendavidson61
Excellent point!
It's bad enough this guy was hired to teach WITHOUT having the education or qualifications to do so. But then to be fired and years later, being convicted a sex offender?Well, let's just say me and Harry Bosch don't believe in coincidences.
56
Blackmail of the wealthy men hiring him as a pimp, and exorbitant fees paid by these men for sessions with his girls. Maybe there was a yearly membership fee of a million dollars for unlimited access? I’d like to know how many corporate titans have a taste for children so I can boycott their companies. How many politicians are clients?
86
There is so much that is rotten and long past the stages of even stinking about Epstein. So much so, that should a real prosecutor and/or federal regulator actually do the job they are/were paid to do - this guy would have been sent to prison many, many years ago.
But alas...he's male, white and wealthy enough, or plays it well enough to skip free.
Once a white male manages to hook-up with the American wealthy elite - he's pretty much been handed a life-long get-out of jail free card.
There is no doubt in my mind, having followed this story for a long time, that Acosta willingly yielded to Epstein's high-priced quasi-celebrity legal team. There is no doubt that contrary to Deshowitz's denials, he knew all about Epstein's predations and depredations.
We need a real and deep investigation to uncover all those parties who were actively involved in aiding, or even casually knew about Esptein's debased behaviors.
I want to see the real roots of this sicko's life pulled out and examined in the light of the law! There's a whole lot more under the surface of this mans "lifestyle" that needs to be uncovered. This is not simply a depraved guy and few friends behaving badly for a bit of time. These guys don't just start up like this one day, and they certainly don't just stop, but instead burrow in like the vermin they are!
So much here that needs to be pursued.
Dont be surprised if Epstein strikes a cooperation deal and squeals.
17
Several years ago, Assistant US Attorney Ann Marie Villafana, working under Acosta, allegedly found evidence of potential money laundering, and she brought this to the attention of Epstein’s lawyers. For reasons we may never know, Epstein was not charged. Let’s hope the NYT researches this.
17
Several years ago, Assistant US Attorney Ann Marie Villafana, working under Acosta, allegedly found evidence of potential money laundering, and she brought this to the attention of Epstein’s lawyers. For reasons we may never know, Epstein was not charged. Let’s hope the NYT researches this.
Someone who treated young girls like he did, obviously has no conscience, and it wouldn't be a stretch for him to both lie, and commit fraud in his financial dealings. Secrecy in any part of one's behavior, is the surest sign, that one has something to hide, and often has a moral, and, or criminal failing on a regular basis. The fact that he never married, or fathered any children, yet wanted young girls to have sexual relations, and experiences with many times a day, shows a very deranged, and devious person.
12
Is it any wonder that the chief executive of Victoria's Secret, a brand largely responsible for body dysmorphia and disordered eating among so many young women so that they might fit into the standard of beauty that only prepubescent teenagers look like normally, is involved with generating Epstein's wealth?
13
Ah, another "billionaire" with a penchant for young women. Perhaps he'll run for public office if he's not being housed at public expense in 2024.
5
Interesting that BT (Before Trump) no one cared about Epstein. NYS Senator Schumer is now calling for Labor Secretary Acosta's resignation. Where was Senator Schumer before this? Why was Epstein allowed to brush off his requirements as a "sex offender" (ex., registration)?
To the extent they can make this about Trump they will evade some very obvious questions like these that have gone begging.
6
Can you imagine the dirt Deutsche Bank has on Trump and his buddies like Epstein? Also I could care less if it's republicans, democrats or whatever.
Get those records and bring all these criminals to justice now.
18
Anyone can enlighten me why protesters holding his photos? I'm honestly really confused
2
The throughline between Mr. Epstein's business connections and the allegations he paid his young sexual abuse victims to recruit more victims is his skill at persuasion. He doesn't appear to be well qualified for the investment work he did, but nonetheless he was able to convince wealthy investors to trust him.
4
It might be a trait of sociopaths or psychopaths to be exceptionally charismatic and persuasive in their efforts at manipulation that psychologically normal, healthy people don’t have?
9
The parallels with Trump are uncanny.
The ties to Deutsche Bank.
The partnerships with fellow fraudsters.
A professional record riddled with fraud, investigation and incompetence (Failing upward).
And of course, sexual assault.
This is what a plutocracy looks like. It doesn't matter how you got the money, just that you have the money. Then, you are free to operate by any set of rules you find best meets your aims. No accountability.
It seems to me that the courts are just barely holding the line but it is hard to imagine they can hold out indefinitely. The center of gravity for all of this corruption and illegality is the Republican Party - a party that is notoriously willing to look the other way as long as there is money or power at issue.
Justice Kavanaugh
Secretary Acosta
Roy Moore
Donald Trump
And what is with all of these pedophiles trolling Republican circles:
Roy Moore
George Nader
Epstein
16
One thing is clear - for Trump and Epstein - those lists of world's richest in Forbes and other places are more PR than reality - just about who is marketing themselves to the lists and telling the right lies.
8
I agree that Epstein should be punished for his crimes . But why not give him an option to reduce his sentence by donating billions to philanthropic organizations that better the lives of runaway or homeless girls/kids. Why have tax payers pay for his jail.? Our justice system has not evolved past burning witches.
4
@Kam Eftekhar
So the wealthy should just be able to buy their way out of prison?
9
@Mollytov what good does he do sitting in jail. Hit him where it hurts: his wallet. Meanwhile help improve lives of those he messed up.
1
@Kam Eftekhar - Sitting in a jail would hit him where it hurts. Also, if his mansion and jet were used for crime, they can be confiscated and used to improve lives.
4
I’m convinced that 99 percent of wealthy people gain their money through fraud and deceit.
20
@John B This guy is an anecdote. Most of the rich got lucky at some point and rode one or a few waves. They are not "99%" deceiptful
1
Perhaps you don’t know many well enough to have witnessed first-hand the individual decisions that could be characterized as ethically or morally compromised that often culminate in dynastic or obscene levels of wealth.
3
@Lilly - Selling books online? Selling coffee with pumpkin pie spice during the holidays?
2
The secret behind these scams? Not a single, audited financial report anywhere. Now even those may not save you (think Enron), but it would be a good place to start.
For all their financial “sophistication,” these individuals seems to be easy marks. No wonder they are friends with Trump.
9
We live in a world that values who one is based on how much money one has or seem to have. As Nation, we profess being a meritocracy when in fact we are a « money-ocracy ». The love of money is an addiction and causes its addict to satisfy the craving by any means necessary. The love money, like love of power, corrupts.
11
Just goes to show you that as long as you are a white man, in America the rules do not apply to you, only to minorities. These white men who get caught after decades of being perverts are protected every step of the way. We are suppose to believe that the housekeepers, drivers, pilots, no one knew what was going on? oh please everyone was getting paid to be quiet and look the other way.
Look at the college admissions scandals, these rich do nothing movie stars had protected help every step of the way of there fake admissions process. Look at the for profit prisons housing brown children in cages. Run by who, rich white friends of the corrupt administration. There shouldn't be one white poor person in this country, there is a corrupt paycheck waiting for each one of them at the end of the day after they sell whatever is left of their integrity. Look at the GOP they stand up for absolutely nothing, except for telling women and minorities what they can do and cant do in their white world.Not one sound from any of them. But they will have plenty of mouth next week when Mr. Mueller testifies,
We will hear plenty of hate but when it comes to protecting American citizens they have no voice.
47
All so sordid. Like many readers following this story, I'm thinking of all the decent people I know who are stressed to breaking because they don't have the spare money that would make their lives more manageable - not even that much easier, let alone fabulous. Right now, fine people are struggling under unforeseen bills from car repairs and health emergencies. Meanwhile, dross like this man and his associates have been flouting basic laws in full view and unlimited luxury. Godspeed, prosecutors. Everything that gives these people shelter must be torn down.
30
Everyone Trump knows is more illusion than fact.
They are all part of the Fox News reality propaganda show, either shilling as Fox newscasters, or shilling as Trump's Cabinet members, staff and friends.
13
I think Epstein made his fortune by co-opting other people with their vice appetites. He never contributed anything material or intellectual to his estate-building efforts. He’s got a vault of evidence somewhere that will be as devastating to the elite as it is revelatory. I think that is his power.
18
The story including the connection to people with questionable characters sounds an awful lot like a man that was elected to the White House in 2016, even to the point of Deutsche Bank and its dealings with him.
15
Interesting how the same names continue to pop-up. It is almost as if there is some sort of a pattern.
25
The fact that anyone with enough money to look like a billionaire can be taken for a billionaire— complete with private islands, jillion square foot Manhattan real estate, cozying up to celebrities and elbow rubbing with politicians at elaborate parties, having multiple private jets — pretty much proves that nobody needs to be a billionaire and maybe it’s about time we got rid of them.
30
@Farina - Bravo!!!!! A billionaire is just a hoarder on a grand scale.
5
Is his financial empire and acumen as vast as the storied "Madoff" fortune? Who exactly is validating his financial expertise and holdings? Does he possess the keen insight of an Elizabeth Holmes, who was celebrated and feted as an innovator of healthcare technology? Who is a witness for that ability?
20
It’s too bad America doesn’t celebrate its engineers and scientists as much as it does it’s finance people.
Engineers and scientists are the core of a strong economy.
44
@Practical Thoughts
Absolutely true, Practical Thoughts. Engineers and scientists cash in big when they retain the intellectual property rights to their ideas. When they work as wage slaves, they get enough to sustain commuting to work. Suggestion: All the engineering and scientific professional organizations should organize a mass refusal to sign employee agreements that give all invention rights to the employer. This is the perfect time for it, with today's record low unemployment you have more leverage.
4
The properties and the income don't add up. There has to be a MUCH BIGGER source of income . His income doesn't justify a private plan, let alone justify a $50M mansion and a private island.
Keep digging
32
@Tom
How can you say that the income "doesn't add up" when the article doesn't even come close to saying what his income might be?
4
Epstein's fortune like Trump's an illusion, who knew.
14
1. Perhaps some of Mr. Epstein's rich buddies got in on the action, and I don't mean the financial action. 2. Deutsche Bank's motto is, "We'll Do Anything for Lucrative Clients".
13
You can be sure that all the "men" involved in this sickening behavior had each other under surveillance, which is not hard to do today, as insurance in the eventuality that someone would slip up and be caught with their pants down. There is a wealth of evidence stored away and it needs to be uncovered and exposed.
22
This all should be be extremely shocking…but is not.
Most readers of the the New York Times and individuals that are remotely engaged and aware know that this is the way the world has always worked…always.
11
@DMatthew
But some of us pretend day after day that the world doesn’t work like that because if we acknowledged it — if we admitted to ourselves what we know —we would be so overcome with the horror that we wouldn't be able to do anything at all. We would be so crushed by the truth of a child molester and gangster in the White House that we would find it impossible to engage in the simple pleasantries of life. We know the truth —but we dare not know.
6
Creepiest thought from this article: Epstein was a high school teacher. Second creepiest thought: somehow he "charmed" Robert Meister and formed an "instant rapport" with Wexner. No proof, but spine-chilling nevertheless. This stuff should all be investigated.
26
I agree- there is much more to this story. What was Epstein, the former high school teacher, doing for these wealthy men? Perhaps the procurement of teenage boys and girls?
10
Perhaps the reason for the sentence in Florida was because Epstein knew so many names of men he could release?
just wondering
18
Criminals and perverts dress and talk just like everybody else. Murders can dress in cop's clothes and the rich can buy and sell human flesh for their pleasure. The man in the oval office can wear the American flag and violate our trust by lying to our faces and telling the nation that the oath of office doesn't include obeying the Supreme Court. Even saying that, without doing it, is a crime. For a nation with the highest incarceration rate in the civilized world, we sure do seem to have a lot of criminals walking free.
18
Epstein was romantically tied to Ghislaine Maxwell. Her father, Robert Maxwell, worked was a MOSSAD cutout. He was "died" in a yacht accident, but was buried in Israel at the Mount of Olives. Not just anyone gets buried at the Mount of Olives. Google it.
13
Why no coverage of the civil suit filed 9/30/2016 against Trump and Epstein for rape? I'm assuming it was withdrawn out of fear for her life? I guess Trump knows what he can get away with, rape and murder on "Fifth Ave."
13
@Michele because none of it happened. It was a lie. “Murder?” Rationality is dead.
1
Amazing how Deutsche Bank’s name pops up every time you read about some unsavory activity or another.
31
America; the country run by the rich, for the rich, and of the rich.
14
Perhaps Mr. Epstein could run for President as so many people seem to love our current one.
7
How many of these people are running around playing genius while laundering money through real estate and running various criminal enterprises?
11
Not even a millionaire, I'd bet. We've heard this before.
6
So when did nearly 300 million stop being "nearly infinite means"?
Does one need more to escape arrest?
6
I assume the authorsq, being savy & professional, checked to see how much the mortgages and liens are on the 200 million worth of assets. I would not have said he was so wealthy depending on those restrictions on title. A good bet would b that is what he is living on, they r mortgaged to the hilt,the reason the bank dropped him, and not bc it had any fore knowledge of his past raising its ugly head again.
3
Re Dalton School: Is it normal for a man with no college degree to teach at a school like Dalton?
19
@Diane Edwards A bit rare, but private schools have been known to do that, especially pre-internet days.
2
@Diane Edwards Somehow this point makes the sickening fact that he was a high school teacher even more disturbing.
4
Running buddies Trump and Epstein are proven womanizers and sexual offenders, no matter what the age, and share the art of illusion along with a wish for people and the powers that be to believe they are billionaires, and, so far, it looks like they have succeeded. They can count on the usual suspects of low intelligence to fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Only in America could Epstein even hope for forgiveness for being a pedophile where he too can get Trump’s base to scream lock them up at his prosecutors.
Trump is upset that he had to cancel the Golf tournament with stripper caddies which was scheduled for this Saturday. There was to be no nudity at the resort; however, after the tournament, golfers and strippers were to go to another location for a special nude show. Have the wives of the men in Trump’s base figured out yet that Trump is condoning adultery and attending strip clubs? Just asking.
9
@Wally Wolf Nothing you wrote is true. Customers are customers. Perhaps you would be upset if Trump refused to bake a stripper cake.
1
A supposedly rich guy with a track record of sexual assaults and wealth that is likely a sham? Why isn’t he running for President?
14
Been there done that with Bill Clinton.
1
@Roy
Too many Dems in the race already
1
@Deb. The article said Wexler was reportedly paid $20 million for his share of the mansion “according to a person familiar with the transaction”; which they had bought for $13.2 million.
1
The rich and powerful always seem to gravitate to politicians of questionable morals no coincidence it seems.
7
Just ask the Obamas who are suddenly very rich.
2
Is there any legal means to search his homes outside the US? There's a lot of questions.
10
Who could have guessed that Epstein and Acosta’s secret might also be Victoria’s secret?
50
How much you wanna bet Epstein does not have big, beautiful secret account in a tax-haven bank with all the funds he needs to live very comfortably for the rest of his life? An account owned by layers and layers of shell corporations incorporated in jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, Nevis, Jersey, and Nauru, all set up by the most prestigious of law firms, accounting firms, and banks. And a huge house in a jurisdiction with no extradition treaty with the US.
Does Marc Rich come to mind?
27
I would like for the Times to run an article on how they determine how to describe someone's wealth: billionaire, millionaire, etc. Fortunes come and go as seems to be the case with Epstein - but the superlative wealth descriptors seem to stick for life. Also terms like "mysterious," "reclusive," and "secretive" are used for wealthy criminals and give them an allure that is undeserved. Language counts.
41
@Dan
A lot of journalism, and even a lot of writing in general, is knee jerk writing. Phrases are tossed out in shorthand almost, without really anybody thinking about their meaning - or if the words to justice to what the situation described requires. It goes both ways, btw. Words that are more harmful than what is warranted, and words that are pathetic euphemism and soft peddling.
7
@CitizenTM
Thanks CitizenTM for your thoughtful comment. I am keenly aware that poor people who commit crimes have a whole other set of descriptors, many of them unwarranted and unjust. Poor people also usually lack the means to perpetrate multi-year schemes and afford a cadre of lawyers that can get them cushy deals and keep them out of jail. Poor people end up incarcerated. Much to think about here, especially how words frame how we think about justice.
6
I wonder if Putin is involved with Epstein. Brilliant way to compromise two presidents , a prince, and who knows how many other prominent men.
40
@Jane
Maybe. But NYT readers used to be above the mere speculation going on at other sides. NYT readers used to analyze and opine, but did not speculate. Wish we could keep it that way.
4
Investigate...what is the real connection between Wexler and Epstein...keep digging
44
Epstein shd not be given bail. He deserves No Mercy. Throw the book at him.
18
Video that accompanies this, Who Is Jeffery Epstein, incorrectly states he was a hedge fund manager. He was not. Never was. More like an asset manager, but you have the resources to figure it out.
18
As often as not, rich people like Epstein got rich by being crooks.
27
It's not an "underage sex scandal," it's RAPE. Period. Stop using these euphemistic expressions to describe RAPE, New York Times. All you're doing is sensationalizing sex abuse, and feeding the idea that 14-year olds can consent to sex with gross old men. Language matters, if we want to end rape culture.
154
@Sara
And some of these secretly apologetic writers are women. Baffling.
9
Did Jeffrey introduce Donald to Deutsche Bank, or vice versa?
41
THAT'S a good question.
5
How was he teaching at Dalton School when he didn't have a college degree? Why would a prestigious school hire a guy with no degree? Or did he lie about that and the school too lazy too check? Lots of fraud in many areas around this guy.
41
@Evitzee
he wasn't a teacher, he was tutoring some students in Math. Not quite the same thing.
Because all these “prestigious private schools” are educational scams for wealthy kids that couldn’t get into one of NYC’s elite public high schools on their own merit. Please just compare the alumni of the Dalton School or Trump’s Kew Forest school to Bronx Science, Stuyvesant, Hunter, Townsend Harris, etc.
The best fake education money can buy.
2
No wonder Trump likes this guy--they both are faux billionaires and are real predators. They both belong behind bars.
49
@Daniel You are less than half right.
1
So who else lies about his supposed wealth and abuses women?
37
Why do all of these financial shenanigans always--ALWAYS--seem to lead to Deutsche Bank?
That's what I'd like to see investigated. Deutsche Bank seems to be the Gordian Knot of financial filth and corruption.
49
I live in Germany home of Deutsche Bank I can tell you now that they are not doing well.
6
They have been investigated - even on 60 Minutes. People do not pay attention, otherwise Trump would not be in office.
3
The similarities between him and trump are not at all surprising. Fake billionaires who use other peoples' money, who like to assault women and/or children, who lie about their shenanigans, and somehow remain above the law. We need to focus our resources on investigating men like this.
22
Who cares if he has money or not? He must be found guilty and sentenced. It's that simple.
14
@Stephen Kurtz
The question is, if he is not actually a billionaire, how does he live the life of a billionaire? Clearly he has provided illicit services to, and has blackmail information on, very wealthy people that have funded his lifestyle.
16
900 million is close enough to a billion to live like that.
2
Why is that the question? Is he any less of a sexual predator or slime ball if he’s worth hundreds of millions instead of billions? Why are we so obsessed with how many zeroes these people have in their bank accounts anyway? Regardless of the dollar figure, these men are in the class of the über-wealthy, the class which plays by a different set of rules than the rest of us. The investigative effort would be much better spent learning more about the crimes of Epstein and the others we don’t know about yet. It was no less pointless when the media was “investigating” whether Trump was actually as rich as he claimed. Equally irrelevant compared to the very real harm that he caused and continues to cause.
2
There must be much more to this bizarre story. A young kid barely out of high school, from a non-wealthy family, somehow lands a teaching job at a premier school despite a total lack of college degree or teaching credentials. By weird coincidence, William Barr is linked to this.
A short time later he pops up at Bear Stearns, one of the biggest financial powerhouses. There must have been hundreds of MBAs at the time, from the best schools, trying to muscle their way into that firm yet they hired this kid, again with no degree, resume or credentials, to manage the accounts of mega-millionaire clients.
It's hard to avoid the suspicion that he was somehow setting up very rich men with encounters with young girls, then blackmailing them. Nothing else fits the details.
111
@Jomo A mysterious piece of the puzzle, that may fit in somewhere is Acosta's claim that Epstein was an "intelligence asset." That could make some sense of it, not that we'd find out.
10
@Jomo Your scenario is a bit too farfetched and Hollywoodish. Do you really think a group of billionaire businessmen would allow a punk like Epstein to blackmail them? It would take just one of them to have Epstein encased in cement boots, only to be found a few months later in the bottom of the Hudson River.
1
I’d like to request some genuine feel good stories on legitimately success people who are not fraudsters, womanizers and child molesters with over inflated egos and fantasy sized bank accounts.
We already have to hear about Trump constantly, and now Epstein joins the too long list of ne’er-do-wells who get profiled regularly.
I’d enjoy some non-newsworthy counterbalance stories on honest successful people to help take the edge off.
Thank you.
14
@Jeremy T I go to work everyday, do my best, provide for my family and take time to smell the roses. I feel pretty successful. Hope you are too!
13
@J Well put! Thanks for providing just what I asked for. Success is by no means measured by one's bank account (real or imagined).
3
@Jeremy T
agreed
Among may friends of little or no means, I have one or two who are billionaires and other billionaires who I've done business with who are decent self made individuals. It astounds me how honest, decent, and down to earth they are. They are also incredibly focused and hard working. I can provide the names to a reporter who could feature these folks, although my down and out friends are much more interesting.
2
His clients, if any, need to make sure he has not raided their funds to pay for his private plane, Caribbean islands, Manhattan mansion, etc.
11
I guess that's just one more thing the 2 men have in common. Fake fortunes.
11
How Jeffrey Epstein got the money?
I bet he screened rich people for their dark side and befriended those who were open to his services. He seemed to have a knack of finding dirt on them and use it to his benefit.
24
How was this guy a teacher at Dalton? He didn’t graduate from college. Sounds like the grifting started early.
24
Has anyone checked out Dalton School links? As a parent, my first thought was "did this all start earlier, back in the 70s??"
58
Many are wondering about the source of Epstein's purported wealth, but tracking wealth can be very murky.
If Robert Mueller was never appointed special counsel, no one would have a clue that Paul Manafort repeatedly committed bank fraud and that his wealth was all a sham.
It looks like our IRS, SEC, and banking regulators aren't much help in all this. So we can be sure there are many wealthy crooks out there.
73
@Jules
The crime rate in the upper 1% is really amazing, the whole Trump administration is one big crime family.
11
@Jules Mansfield wealth wasn’t a sham. His tax reporting was. At one point he had just under $100 million in assets globally, personal and corporate. The problem was he reported and taxed $40 million and spent like he had $200 million. While it was a downfall when he got caught, it wasn’t a sham.
@Jules
Among honest CPAs, hiding assets from the government in a foreign country is something you would never want to be a party to. How the IRS missed this with a high profile person like Manafort is outrageous, and is the result of the defunding of the IRS budgets over the years.
11
Re-read "The Great Gatsby." It's all there.
31
@richard cheverton
Yes but "The Great Gatsby" is fiction, and when reading the Epstein case, truth really is stranger (and creepier) than fiction.
7
@richard cheverton
Except...Gatsby's downfall was his obsession with Daisy, an adult. He wasn't "having sex" with underage girls for money.
10
I'm curious as to whether he has been filing a New York State tax return as a resident. He would appear to be required to do so, assuming he is in NY over 186 days, and since he has a permanent place of abode here. I read somewhere he claims the island (not Manhattan) as his place of residence.
20
Anyone else get the feeling that the big immigrant arrest Trump has resuscitated is designed to detract from the Epstein story?
109
@Joy
Yes. Good thing he made sure his in-laws were no longer resident aliens so they wouldn't get swept up, too. And the wife and one ex-wife.
It used to be possible to absorb more than one news story at a time. Now that our forms of media have expanded in type, number, and distribution, the story du jour has shrunk to one.
7
@Joy
Spot on! Unfortunately, most people are focused on headlines & 40-character twits. They've been trained not to connect the dots or examine a story ten layers deep.
The land of the superficial--in everything!
5
@Joy If you meant "distract," yep.
I don't think you can separate his unexplained wealth and connections to powerful men from his well-documented ability to arrange sex between underage girls and much older men. He may be the most successful pimp in history and earned the friendship and admiration of our president for these procurement skills.
160
@Kasper
My thinking exactly. And I'm sure some of the prosecutors are motivated by that thought.
But I expect that line of inquiry will be shut down by the powers that be.
7
If I had money to burn, I'd bet on modern day journalists and media. They are the true heroes in this day and age. What a super time to be in the news! Go get 'em all!
92
No wonder he's friends with Trump. 2 peas in a pod.
42
Epstein may be better at fleecing the wealthy.
8
In the words of our president, "Lock him up."
28
how did he paid for 56 millions mansion and a island in the Caribbean
15
Question: Within the high roller Wall Street crowd, is Jeffrey Epstein's behavior an aberration, or is it the norm?
I am beginning to think that Martin Scorsese's film "The Wolf of Wall Street" was not as exaggerated as I first thought.
Anyway, here is one solution: These celebrated Wall Street high livers appear to be a bunch of lying, conniving, debauchers, and have way too much discretionary money to spend.
How about we close all those tax loopholes for these rip-off financial schemers and tax them at a 70% rate, where stock gains are taxed as "salary" just the rest of us working stiffs.
And why is Trump always touting how well the stock market is doing and taking full credit for what the Obama administration did in pulling us out of the ditch?
Only 54% of Americans are invested in the stock market. Therefore, it is not a good measure of the economic well being of the American people.
Trump, Epstein, and so many other big businessmen, cabinet appointees, and cronies of Trump are really giving business a bad name. Is it deserved? Look at the evidence. I am beginning to think so.
52
One wonders if Epstein is the factor for the rich who need bridge loans for their empires need to cover a large margin call?? 1800-J Epstein. Black mail and dark pools of cash made available from a money laundering operation. Need to cover the down payment on a loan or a bridge loan? Epstein parks Cash in your account for a vig and keeps you paying him with the insurance pictures of you and his little girls and boys.
15
@Andy
Is the FBI checking the mansion for hidden cameras?
4
From his early years, Jeffrey Epstein carefully cultivated his reputation as some kind of mathematical and financial genius, much as Bernie Madoff did. Epstein liked to rub shoulders with real math geniuses at Harvard and Oxford, and to be photographed in front of whiteboards with complicated math formulas and graphs pictured. But his performance as described in this article doesn't seem to reflect that sort of genius. For all of Epstein's purported ability to recognize patterns, he missed the 2008 financial crisis. He was eventually dumped by all of his clients, most before his arrest for "prostitution" in 2006. I think Mr Morosky (Mr Wexler's VP) was probably the smartest person involved in this story, he realized a fraud when he met him.
35
Maybe, just maybe, Wexner did some nefarious deeds with Epstein, and gave him the mansion to keep him quiet. Just a thought, not an accusation.
22
@CTMD I suspect the same thing about Wexner. There is certainly no doubt that he would have had interaction with fashion models via his Victoria Secret and The Limited businesses. Most of the fashion models start their careers around age 14. Somebody with nothing to hide would not simply give away the largest mansion in Manhattan to the guy he then dumps after years of friendship.
30
@CTMD The free mansion give-away could have been either a "thank you" gift or hush payment. Use your imagination for the motive.
11
The real motto of America: "In Plutocrats We Trust".
16
No wonder he and Trump were such good friends. Trump's schtick about how he turned around a million-dollar loan to become a "financial success" also has nothing to do with fact.
That's not the only thing they have in common, though:
https://www.scribd.com/document/326055870/Doe-v-Trump-et-al-refiled-complaint-9-30-16
The woman who filed the above pleading withdrew after numerous death threats. She filed as Jane Doe to retain anonymity and avoid such threats, but once Trump became a nominee, that all changed.
My question is, why aren't BOTH Epstein and Trump answerable.
44
@Jbugko
This should be on the front page of every newspaper:
"Defendant Trump initiated sexual contact with Plaintiff at four different parties. On the fourth and final sexual encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied Plaintiff to a bed, exposed himself to Plaintiff, and then proceeded to forcibly rape Plaintiff. During the course of this savage sexual attack, Plaintiff loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to stop but with no effect. Defendant Trump responded to Plaintif
f’s
pleas by violently striking Plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted. Exhs. A and B. 11.
Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened Plaintiff that, were she ever to reveal any of the details of the sexual and physical abuse of her by Defendant Trump, Plaintiff and her family would be physically harmed if not killed." Exhs. A and B
5
Apparently US policy is that the Executive Branch can not be distracted by such trivial matters.
1
And why amid the frenzy of #MeToo has Clinton remained untouchable, despite there being little in Harvey Weinstein's story that doesn't also apply to him?
Apparently Clinton flew on the plane but was unaware of anything inappropriate going on.
It all probably happened on other flights, no reason why Epstein would have thought Clinton would be interested.
9
His story, genius, wealth-generating acumen, all sound like those of President Trump. Nothing in Epstein's past seems to suggest he was brilliant, other than connections to wealthy individuals - who are no better judges of character than anyone else. Trump has same checkered past - his father gave him a large loan, they set up all kinds of real estate schemes, cheated contractors, discriminated against renters. Promised more then he could deliver - failure of casinos, other businesses. He talks a big story, but like his character on his TV show - its not real.
Someday, all this, like Epstein, will come to light, be written up and he, his family will get their credit.
11
@David AND Trump was connected to Deutsche Bank!
8
Can't wait until the forensic CPAs conclude their work on this guy. Perhaps he will get his comeuppance. Hope springs eternal.
18
I am no religionist. I advocate for freedom for individuals to live as they would like. But Epstein seems to be a person able to live as a predatory person, a social parasite, with the full awareness of people having great power and influence as well as people of great renown and respect. How this has come about is suspiciously like a truly corrupt population of people who are able to dominate over our public institutions. It is an appropriate subject for the Congress to investigate. We need to know all about Epstein’s life and with who and why he has been associated.
16
@Casual Observer
Surprise, surprise....don't hear much noise over this story from all the "righteous" evangelical darlings. I guess outrage is only used over fetuses & pro-gun issues.
5
I wonder about the transfer of the NYC mansion from Wexler to Epstein. I wonder, does Epstein have something on Wexler? Was the mansion payment for something? Between men like this, a place like that is not a gift out of friendship.
25
This is a very interesting story. The article says the real estate he owns is worth more than $200 million. But it doesn't say if they're mortgaged. If so, and depending to what degree, they may not be worth anything to him, correct? His story sounds so much like Bernie Madoff's.
30
I’m guessing Cyrus Vance, who also attempted to have Epstein’s sexual offender classification lowered to a more innocuous level.
14
After reading about this man, I feel the need to shower.
27
So, Epstein claims to have more money than he actually has. He claims to be a self-made man when he has actually depended on the kindness of “strangers,” each one stranger than the last. He has also done shady business with Deutsche Bank, all of this while being a serial sexual predator with girls “on the younger side”. All of this sounds suspiciously like “your favorite President”. Maybe it’s true what some have said: Trump isn’t a cause but, rather, a symptom—a junk President for a junk culture. Sad!
56
@Steve Griffith Love the phrase "a junk President for a junk culture"! So very apt!
10
@Steve Griffith
I've been saying all along that Trump is the poster boy for an entire nation with a corrupted ethos. I always point that out to my friends---but they believe Trump is only an anomaly.
1
An elder white male self-aggrandizing his wealth? Seems to be a major trend for those who propagate deceit and disgusting behavior.
17
Deutsche also appears in today's Times article about the Malaysia sovereign fund theft.
Nice bank.
18
Epstein, Trump, and Clinton? Young girls? Sex? Lawyers, guns, and money? When is the movie coming out? The sleaze and creep factor is over the top.
15
Epstein's ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, probably has a treasure trove of background information. I would guess she's lying low right now.
17
@Maureen She's probably next to be arrested once the evidence is strong enough.
12
@Deb, or cooperating with prosecutors. They've reached that "every person for her/himself" stage now.
13
I keep wondering why in the world I have to listen to the constant bellowings about how everybody rich earned their loot through sheer genius, hard work, and self-discipline without bursting into laughter.
I’ll grant you Gates and Jobs, Buffett and Diamond, and similar. But as far as I can see, every single guy with a profile like this is a simple crook.
And as with Trump, Deutschebank is up to its fat neck in the whole cesspit. Holding a big spoon.
46
@Robert
I would exclude the Diamond from your list.
1
No surprise. Everything is a facade with these people. They get good at it. Their lifestyle.
I mean, Epstein passing himself off as a normal human being when he’s a low down pedophile living in a mansion? And all his pals - they’re normal, too, right? Does that add up?
18
Why have we not seen the phrase, "pedophile pimp" among the terms describing Jeffrey Epstein?
20
BOTH of the men mentioned in this pleading deserve to be arrested:
https://www.scribd.com/document/326057027/Amended-Complaint-Filed-9-30-2016#from_embed?platform=hootsuite
4
@Jbugko
You can't just arrest people; there has to be probable cause. Typically, that exists when the victim makes a complaint under oath; she never did that. Otherwise, all we have is an anonymous civil complaint that was been dismissed 2 or 3 times several years ago. No probable cause.
2
NY Times, great start - keep digging!
Another con man. What a surprise.
19
This article makes you wonder just how a magazine like Forbes goes about determining the real wealth of those it designates the richest people in America, an exercise that purports to be based on real journalism but is likely to be anything but. Inclusion is highly coveted, not only for the flattery rich people enjoy from being in the company of other rich people, but also for the perceived privilege and power it confers, starting with access to the lending departments of institutions like Deutsche Bank (whose leaky largesse also benefited Donald Trump). As consumers of "the richest" lists and websites that offer aerial glimpses "inside" the walled purlieus inhabited by these on-the-run Gatsbys, the rest of us are participants in the big scam, validating P..T. Barnum's observation that "there's a sucker born every minute."
23
Is the Times investigating Vance's tenure as the Manhattan DA? It certainly should be.
34
Seems pretty likely his easy deal was because he had all the dirt on everyone.
period. The little black book of egotistical losers who need
young girls to make them feel powerful.
Its positively Gomorrahn.
35
Epstein was a pimp for wealthy men . Something of a Ponzi scheme . He rounded up underage girls and sold them off . That’s what he did ; that’s where his money comes from
45
Where's Grislaine? I hope they arrest her soon and anyone else who recruited for him. Disgusting.
16
What’s an illusion is our so-called justice system. It’s always protected the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and powerless. It’s really the American way, isn’t it?
19
His New York real estate, aircraft, FL mansion, etc. require real money. Somebody actually paid at some point. Considering his alleged pandering, extortion, and protection, might more conventional rackets money be involved?
12
NYT, please stay with this story and follow it wherever it leads. There will be a lot of other newsworthy distractions along the way but the political implications of this story could be worth it. Perhaps resulting in revelations that the apologists for this administration may not be able to shrug off so easily.
30
@Stella I would say this story is a distraction from the real takeover of America by the Koch brothers and their ilk. I would love for NYT to dig into the network of Koch+politicians more. The words spilling from Trump's mouth in October 2016 did nothing to stop him from being elected. Trump's association with Epstein will do nothing to prevent him from being re-elected. We're all wishing on a star that burns out.
5
Hello.
I don't have a college degree.
I taught math in High School for a few years.
I worked at Bear Stearns for a short time. I was disciplined for lending money to a friend to buy stock, and there were irregularities with my expense account and rumors I was having an affair with a secretary.
I ran my own advisory firm for a few years, but can't provide any information on who I advised.
I started a collection agency with some guy and we failed at a couple of takeover efforts.
I am now a "financier". Give me a minimum of $1 billion and I will manage your money. Thank you.
Leslie Wexner: "Sign me up"
77
@John I like the "it takes a village" approach.
",,,Rapid growth in New Albany began in the 1990s, much due to the expansion of the Les Wexner clothing empire ... " -Wikipedia
3
@John Exactly. considering Wexner runs Victoria's Secret and other stores for young women (The Limited & Express were THE thing for middle class teenage female mall rats in the 80s who couldn't afford Benetton or ESPRIT) -- I know, I was one of them) -- follow that Wexner trail to see if it goes anywhere. Maybe it doesn't go anywhere. But right now, this doesn't make sense on the surface us readers see.
17
@John - There it is.
4
It is a problem that Americans are so enamored with billionaires. Megalomania and addiction bring us gangsters in golden suits. Our culture in chaos.
31
One thing jumped out at me in particular in this article...he was teaching at Dalton in the early 80's. Sounds like the wolf was guarding the hen house. I wonder if there were any improprieties reported (or not reported) at the school while he was a teaching there.
29
@CJ Gallagher - The fact that he got the job from AG Barr's father, coupled with Trade Sec Acosta letting him off the hook leads one to imagine all sorts of connections amongst rich, powerful men, going back years. Odd that they all orbit tRump, innit?
11
@CJ Gallagher Also, not mentioned in the article, he was hired to work at this prestigious school by the father of William Barr, even though Epstein did not even have a college degree. I wonder how many other teachers at this school at the time did not have a degree?
12
@CJ Gallagher
And if you weren't aware, he was hired by William Barr's father, go figure.
1
What did Acosta get for the sweetheart deal? This question has not been asked, not in public anyway. The Southern District of New York prosecutors need to pursue this.
28
@PK
I have been wondering the same thing.
4
@PK,
The answer might in one of discs recovered from the crime scene.
4
Panic attacks aside, I wonder how well, and how many, old or middle aged white men with means have been sleeping since Epstein's house was raided. It seems incredible that Epstein would keep what the FBI allegedly found. Ego, of course, makes people do stupid stuff, but short of ego, what other value was there for him? Intuition says the US Attorney for the SDNY is in possession of what is likely going to take down a lot of people and, with the notoriety involved, it's not going away a second time. The Attorney General of NY should find a way to become involved.
On a related note, the unexplained "falling out" between two pals who allegedly once partied alone with 28 beauty queens at Mar-a-Lago seems curious. If we can presume that anything Trump says is not true (most of us make that presumption), then either there was no falling out, the falling out occurred right after the raid, or it was something more than a falling out. If Trump is telling the truth (it is, after all, a rebuttable presumption), then, it would be smart for him to provide more details, should they exist. Thanks to the press, however, it's not going away any time soon for Epstein or Trump. I hope someone at NYT is going to visit Michael Cohen very soon.
33
@John
Or Jane Doe who dropped the following case once Trump was the GOP candidate and she began receiving death threats:
https://www.scribd.com/document/326057027/Amended-Complaint-Filed-9-30-2016#from_embed?platform=hootsuite
10
@Jbugko
Surely Cohen knows something about this.
3
How does a federal prosecutor, Acosta, think victim notification rights knowingly can be ignored because he negotiated a soft deal, light sentence with 12 hour daily free release?
Consequences? Disbarment? Jail time with no amenities?
Maybe recordings by victims chastising him blaring at all hours into his jail cell?
18
This story sounds like a mash up of The Great Gatsby and Lolita.
14
Don’t forget dickens...Scrooge...but before he found religion in the novel.
How sad is this man? All his supposed wealth and perhaps ill-perceived success, and he has to pay innocent young girls to touch him with a certain tenderness...
8
Still waiting for all the revelations of trading at Deutsche Bank. And is the Justice Dept. and AG Barr part of the cover-up?
18
Donald J. Trump is likewise a doubtful billionaire. One of the reasons he refuses to release his tax returns is that they will document that he is far from the billionaire business man of successful investments and actions. He's a cheapskate as well as a deceitful bankrupt who refuses to pay his just debts owed not only to the contractors and workers who have done work for him but the people of the United States. He still owes over 7 million dollars for that disgusting fraud of an "inauguration." He and Jeffrey Epstein are two of a kind, in every way shape and form.
35
Why do you suppose we pay fo read the New York Times --so we can read another detailed account on a person we do not want to know? Recent publication have shown us page after boring page of the disgusting lives of the friends of Trump. This animal should have no more than a paragraph -- on the back page. You could have a small section labeled "The crooked friends of our crooked President." Just list their names and the name of their business and their most recent crime-- that is all we need to know.
1
No. He deserves the shame of being exposed for the horror that he is, in excruciating detail. The girls that he violated deserve to see him taken down in print as well as financially and legally, as well as his enablers, customers and co-conspirators. Let the naming and shaming begin, with more arrests and penalties. The authorities who let him off lightly also need to be disbarred and banished from office and responsibility, and some prison time too if possible. Women are tired of being harmed by these Masters of the Universe and their sexual obsessions. If this is BORING to anyone, I suggest not reading and checking that you have a pulse.
20
"Mr. Epstein, 66, is doubtless very rich: His real estate alone — one of Manhattan’s largest private mansions, a Palm Beach estate, a Paris apartment, his own Caribbean island and a huge New Mexico ranch — is worth more than $200 million".
Doubtless? His stake in $200 million worth of real estate could be 5% of that amount or less. Please find another way to quantify his wealth.
13
I'm waiting for the tapes. You know they are out there.
15
For all anyone knows all Epstein really did was to be the front that supplied all these other rich guys with the exotic amusements they desired. Giving “What’s in your portfolio” definitely new meaning.
12
Many here believe that the powerful will fall, that the names of those who attended his “parties” will become public, that a gang of serial child molesters and will be charged and punished, and that among them may well be the president of the United States. We are seriously into selling a bridge in London and a tower in Paris. When in the past century have the powerful paid the price for their crimes? Who was indicted when the world economy was brought to the edge of collapse? The president was already accused and his accuser one day suddenly withdrew the charges and vanished. I must’ve missed the massive media investigation of that story. I must’ve missed the reports of suitcases of cash changing hands and threats of death. Or I missed all of that because none of it happened, and none of it ever will. A lady once famously said, only the little people pay taxes. The corollary is, except in very rare circumstances only the little people go to prison.
37
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Epstein turns out to be the Bernie Madoff of 2019. How many undisclosed investors are now scrambling to see if anything is left of their investments.
I was just recently in New Albany Ohio, about a month ago and was amazed at the homes, golf courses, and development there. Abercrombie and Fitch (note the Wexner commons at the Abercrombie & Fitch HQ) have their headquarters and a giant warehouse there as well. Very interestink as they used to say on Laugh-In.
21
@FrankWillsGhost
"Undisclosed investors" = lovely euphemism.
1
Deutsche Bank another thing Epstein has in common with Trump!
I feel bad for the 18,000 Deutsche Bank employees being laid off this week. All to finance the unethical business practices of their bosses with guys like Epstein and Trump.
The elite class we keep voting into power are chewing us up and spitting us out while they live out their scandalous fantasies.
Bank elsewhere and vote for change!
90
Why does this sound so familiar? Do we know of anyone who overstates his [gender specific pronoun used purposefully] wealth? A man who had a failed venture in the airlines? If only I could remember who else these facts remind me of. Someone else tied in with Deutsche Bank . . . someone else who ran Ponzi schemes. It will come to me . . . birds of a feather and all that.
72
There’s clearly more to the story of Jeffrey Epstein. The seedier social side has only been partly revealed. We know he liked to party and that he liked to party with underage girls. He’s charged with the sex trafficking of such unfortunates, and the FBI will now take its investigation seriously. That means they’ll question whichever girls come forward, and they’ll ask about all the men involved. And the questioning won’t stop just because the names are recognizable.
Of course, I’m assuming AG Barr doesn’t somehow insert himself to shut it down or turn it away from individuals with connections.
52
@Michael Tyndall
#Barr Yes, he had recused himself, but I believe that he now reversed that decision ?? Why the reversal?
13
Did I mention the public corruption unit at SDNY is handling the Epstein investigation?
4
So....Epstein is just another "stable genius"?
He and Mr. Trump seem to have a lot in common.
29
Epstein's alleged wealth is now evolving into one of imagination and hype which could also be said for other self aggrandized Pied Pipers like Donald Trump who does not want to reveal his true earnings.
26
One thing is certain,
Deutsche Bank's infamous "private-banking division"—whose clients included fraudsters Trump and Epstein—needs to be thoroughly investigated.
Also, the curious and suspicious relationship between Wexner and Epstein.
54
@srwdm hmmmm isn’t there a former SCJ’s son who works for Deutsche Bank?
9
@suzzie Yes. Anthony Kennedy's son works for or did work for Deutsche Bank. I think he's now serving on Trump's legal team.
8
Outstanding financial reporting. Kudos to the authors and to the NY Times.
That Epstein’s wealth, while impressive, is not at the billionaire level, seems apparent.
17
Golly. And all along we thought being a slinky slimy money-grabber and girl-groper was what enterprising liars in New York City were supposed to become.
No wonder his one-time pal Trump has abandoned him--as we know, Trump just has no use for people who get captured.
37
A sexual predator lying about being a billionaire? I feel like I've heard this story before.
74
I guess we could find out the same about El Presidente.
21
So, when do we get to see Epstein's tax returns?
23
A shell game by a lying, womanizing egomaniac. Sounds familiar...
27
How sad is this man? All his supposed wealth and perhaps ill-perceived success, and he had to pay innocent young girls to touch him with a certain tenderness...
14
Yet another example of self-made myth trumping reality. Which raises an obvious question: What hard evidence, beyond suffocatingly narcissistic hype and self-promotion, is there that Donald Trump is an authentic billionaire?
The fact that Jeffrey Epstein and Mr. Trump both have a fondness for Deutsche Bank certainly raises red flags, if not an odor of fraud. One can only hope that Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who has an immunity deal with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, will eventually shed light on some semblance of the truth.
Since the president adamantly refuses to show us his tax returns or other relevant financial data, even though he said he would upon completion of the longest "audit" in the history of Western civilization, we're taking his word -- and his alone -- about his actual wealth. And we all know what that's worth.
30
As a distinguished member of the peanut galley count me skeptical about Jeffrey Epstein's sudden question of extreme wealth. With his keen ability to see patterns along with his self realization that eventually the law would catch up to him again, he very likely hid a great deal of his money that may never be found by investigators.
To me, based upon the news accounts I have read to date, he remains a "billionaire pervert" who has ruined the lives of many young women.
I hope his enablers likely people in high places are exposed too. Send this creep to jail, preferably one that is run so efficiently by private contractors.
25
A serial abuser of women, a lifetime fraud, a cheat, a fake billionaire, always engaged in shady business deals, an arrogant man who feels above the law, obsessed with celebrity and prestige.
We’ve found the new Republican VP for 2020.
53
@Andy
Really? The guy hobnobbed with President Clinton (remember him? Democratic president of the United States for two terms?) -- maybe Epstein's suited for the Democratic party??
1
For every wealthy man getting away with decades of sexual abuse (Sandusky, Weinstein, Epstein, Cosby, Nassar, etc.) there's a system of (mostly) other men in power protecting and enabling them. These people are absolutely complicit.
66
@Anne -- All of these predatory men see women and children as disposable objects to play with and discard. Unfortunately, many innocent, decent men want to look away and have this abuse just disappear. Notice that it is mainly women who are investigating and reporting these abuses.
9
@Nancy: That's absolutely true. Although Ronan Farrow has done some good reporting, too, on the topic.
5
@Anne -- Yep -- there lots of wonderful men! I think it is hard for many of them to step out and get involved -- they don't like looking as if they are breaking ranks.
2
This guy has shades of the 1980s Craig Spence. He set up a consulting business in Washington secretly funded by a prominent Japanese politician. He was given money to buy a mansion in Kalorama. He had parties where he invited all sorts of prominent men in government and the press where they could enjoy other men. Spence ended up committing suicide, or so they say.
12
High school math teachers agree that there is a zero percent chance his "wealth" was obtained legitimately.
36
Like Trump's? It seems birds of a feather do flock together.
10
The ‘jetliner” did not “explode.’ It was sabotaged by terrorists. A dear young scientist and family friend was murdered. That was not the sole reason for difficulty with Pan Am’s finances.
Facts are facts, are they not?
17
@Arthur Taub MD PhD
Even the Times now has to concede mere "explosion" as we do not know enough to conclude anything else. It was proven in 2013 that the luggage having the timer was in the first row, not the second row which had been tied to a flight through Malta. During the original trial, the EU observer was calling it a miscarriage of justice all along (and a story only a child could believe), and similarly through two appeals. In the end, the alleged Libyan bomber was compassionately released, but it seemed very possible he would have won his final appeal, his shoddy framing having already come apart. Libya paid a settlement long before only to end sanctions.
2
With the arrest of Epstein we are getting a little look and a little taste of the worldwide web of criminality which looks like this. At the center of the web is Russia and its various Eastern European vassal states, all of which may or may not be controlled by Putin himself. Next is the bankers for these criminal, Mafia-type enterprises. In this global network of money laundering it is Deutsche Bank which stands out, but there are many other, smaller financial players in there too; banks and individuals. Epstein is one of these minor players. So is Trump. So was Robert Maxwell, the British newspaper publisher, until he annoyed his Russian partner and was tossed over the side of his yacht. Maxwell's daughter, Ghislaine, however landed on her feet and has been Epstein's personal assistant for some time now.
There are many other Epstein-like fixers, plying their corrupt trade around the world. They all have their own Clinton, Trump, Dershowitz, Prince Andrew-type customers to entertain and crucially, control.
This web of worldwide criminality is exceedingly complex and due to the number and power of many of its players, we will be unlikely to ever know much about what is really going on. The prime members of this Mafia-type country club are the rulers or very close to the rulers of most of the largest economies in the world.
It should be fascinating to watch, but we will only ever get tidbits of what is truly going on. These people, simply put, clandestinely rule the world.
31
@Anthony Taylor Ghislaine Maxwell has more accurately been described as Epstein’s beard, co-conspirator and accomplice
6
Predator, sociopath, criminal. The legal system failed to protect
vulnerable young girls, for years. Wealth, social connections and disreputable banks protected the perpetrator while children and women continued to be abused. The innocent victims, at the very least deserve justice. Thank you NYT, for unearthing this information.
17
Geez no wonder Trump thinks he is or was a terrific guy... He think like Trump. Oh how these reality TV rich became such a fixture in today's world. By reality TV rich they largely because rich through their personalities.
10
How many coincidences does it take to make it very probable that Epstein has something very compromising on Trump? Let's see:
1.) Acosta cuts Epstein a break and winds up as the very Labor Secretary who would destroy the budget of the agency that fights sex trafficking by 80%.
2.) Deutsche Bank's private investment unit, the same one that gave Trump so many fraudulent loans, is, lo and behold, also propping up Epstein against the better judgement of its own employees.
3.) We discover a much cozier relationship between Epstein and his pal, Trump, including the "party" at Mar a Lago where the only guests were Trump, Epstein, and 23 young girls recruited just for the purpose.
4.) Trump and Epstein are twice sued by an unamed girl who claimed they raped her repeatedly when she was just 13 -- but she twice withdrew citing threats to her life.
5.) Both engage in the same pattern of fraud and deception about the true nature of their wealth -- a pattern that also shows the only thing they're really good at is getting "dirt" on someone as a means for manipulating them.
Maybe these are all just coincidences, but I know one thing for sure: these guys are sleaziest sleazeballs, I have ever seen. So disgusting.
36
@Brannon Perkison It makes me wonder if Epstein made his money by being a glorified procurer for the ultra-wealthy? They threw him some crumbs/investment advice and he had some luck spinning that into a reasonable fortune for himself.
6
Epstein and Trump are cut from the same cloth- all smoke and mirrors and depraved inclinations. The difference being that Epstein is a self made stain on society while Trump was born into that “distinction”.
13
Leslie Wexner seems to have handed over a great deal of money and property to Jeffrey Epstein in a series of unrecorded (and likely untaxed) transactions. Makes you wonder what Mr. Epstein knows about Mr. Wexner.
31
@Frank F there isn;t a building high enough to jump from if that is the case.
4
The connection between Barr's father, Epstein when younger and Dalton Academy is relevant.
26
Ghee, this sounds familiar. His wealth is as elusive as that of the president.
11
It is just like reading about Trump’s story. Up to the very end with Deutsche Bank. Though it seems Epstein was a more talented scammer but Trump relied more on Russian money.
12
As soon as he finds a way of evading serious prison (like last time), he will probably be offered a cabinet post since he fits perfectly with this administration.
20
What about the poor old SCOTUS judge who they forced to retire because he was associated with Deutche bank.
17
Sounds like Epstein was a procurer for Barr.
Assumed the same of Wexner at first, but now seems more likely Wexner was in love with/infatuated with Epstein, who milked that for all he could.
14
Correction on my earlier post. It was William Barr (Trump's AG) who hired the 20 year old college dropout to teach "math."
3
@J. Faye Harding It was Barr's dad not Barr, Barr's dad ran Dalton back in the 70's
3
@J. Faye Harding
It's not a correction when you say the same, wrong thing twice.
Please include a comment about past sex abuse scandal at Dalton School instead of just mentioning it as a "prestigious Manhattan private school." The sex abuse allowed there is surely relevant when a former teacher is arrested for sexual misconduct.
25
If you had billions in wealth and a habit of raping children would you leave your money in the neighborhood bank?
Lets not kid ourselves. It is hidden in the Camden Islands.
11
@gene
Where are the "Camden Islands"? Outside Philly or in Maine?
1
Ah, that sounds familiar. No wonder he's a friend of Donald Trump.
8
Haven’t we heard the same thing about Trump sometime back ?
6
For every wealthy man getting away with decades of sexual abuse (Sandusky, Weinstein, Epstein, Cosby, Nassar, etc.) there's a system of (mostly) other men in power protecting and enabling them. These people are absolutely complicit.
14
Here's the academic at Harvard who's benefitted from Epstein's $30M donation, and it's heady stuff:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Nowak
"In 1989, he moved to the University of Oxford as an Erwin Schrödinger postdoctoral Scholar to work with Robert May, becoming Head of Mathematical Biology in 1995 and Professor of Mathematical Biology in 1997. In 1998 he moved to the Institute for Advanced Study to establish the first program in Theoretical Biology there. In 2003, Nowak was recruited to Harvard University as Professor of Mathematics and Biology.[4] He is Director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics[5] which was funded with a $30 million pledge by convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein and his foundation, the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation,[6] a friend of Nowak who had supported his work in the past.[7][8]
Nowak works on the dynamics of infectious diseases, cancer genetics, the evolution of cooperation and human language. His first book, Virus Dynamics (written with Robert May) was published by Oxford University Press, 2000.
..."
1
A heretofore seemingly limitless leech with no apparent redeeming value who should probably be put down for what was done to those children. And fellow playboy of the POTUS. Dark times.
11
His big break cam when he was teaching math at the Dalton School, OK. But why did you leave out that it was William Barr, Trump's AG who hired the 20 year old without a college degree to teach young girls and boys at Dalton?
5
@J. Faye Harding
Because it wasn't
@J. Faye Harding
Barr's father who was headmaster, hired Epstein.
1
His net worth may be phony but his sexual predation is not.
10
I don't see why this matters. Why do so many NY Times articles seem to focus on Epstein's wealth rather than on what he did? If he were a plumber from Topeka, KS would we be reading about his lifestyle/wealth? Let's focus on the fact that he was allowed to abuse underage girls for almost two decades.
9
When, where and how can any black African American Protestants with a high school diploma sign in to fail- up to a multi- millionaire fortune like Jeffrey Epstein?
Same questions for the high school graduate entertainers Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck?
Indeed, when, where and how can a black African American Protestant pick a New York City real estate baron father to inherit 295 streams of income to insulate them from the consequences of being the worst losing businessman in America over a ten year period before ending up occupying the White House?
Put a black African American face on any white European American Judeo-Christian person in history and keep everything else the same. Imagine where they would be.
Babe Ruth never played in Major League Baseball. Ruth was a great white baseball player who played great white baseball in a great white league for a great white team. So it is for most of American white folks for most of the American past and present.
6
@Blackmamba, Kanye West and Michael Jackson come to mind. West is a college dropout. Both they and others in the entertainment industry have more talent than most and don’t need the degree to become wealthy beyond belief. They have fans who are black and white and in many countries around the world.
Right now I don’t know if Epstein’s fortune is legitimate or honestly earned. Although a criminal and a sick man he seems to have a talent for numbers beyond the average. I grant you that his fortune seems a little too good to be true
Ugh. William Barr's father hired the 20 year old dropout.
10
The pattern of Epstein's holdings do not provide a great deal of transparency. As a Bette Noire and social pariah with likely dirt on other pederasts, like Donald Trump based on conservative extrapolation of their reported mutual interests in "modeling companies" and "Miss Teen" beauty pageants, Epstein would be an ideally positioned blackmailer and co-conspirator who shared a major banking position also in common with Trump: Deutsche Bank. Trump would never "pay" anybody anything, . . . outright. But, he would gladly send self-dealing advance of market tips on data and info that would cause predictable market shifts. And, starting with Trump's December 2016 probes into using Twitter bombs on Boeing stock (announcing he was "cancelling" AF-1 and having Boeing and General Dynamics pledge $1M the very next day to the "Trump Inaugural fund"), it is painfully obvious that Trump was putting massively corrupt info/trade self-dealing scams into play, augmented by his blatant "pay to play" golf and "club" memberships and foreign bribe conduits (the Trump Washington International).
So why is Epstein really under house arrest at Manhattan Fed. Corrections facility? Trump took inspiration from MbS. Epstein is now being squeezed like a lemon by Geof Berman in plain sight via a prosecution appropriated from fired Preet Bahahra. The whole affair is directly from the Putin "squeeze the oligarch" playbook down to the pederasty super charged smokescreen that will come to naught.
13
@jwp-nyc
EXCELLENT POINTS
It's encouraging to read how aware NY Times readers are, and depressing in a way that they seem more savvy than the Times editorial division.
7
How naive are we supposed to act at this article?
He is really broke so the civil suites will pay out little or nothing to these abused children.
NYT your protection of this plutocrat is blatantly obvious.
He has hid his money well , ok but don't act like it doesn't exist.
9
@gene
Easy, tiger. Nobody said anything about civil suits, or him being broke.
2
Wait....Deutsche Bank is involved in this somehow? I'm shocked
10
"More illusion than fact"—
Sounds just like his buddy Trump.
5
Jeffrey Epstein is more illusion than fact.
Welcome to the virtual world of Donald Trump.
Where facts are "fake news" and his pathological lying the norm.
Where loyal shills and fraudsters are Cabinet Secretaries.
Where you're told not to believe what your eyes see or your ears hear.
Welcome to the con man's show, where you are duped every day.
9
@Joe Miksis
"told not to believe what your eyes see or your ears hear."
I get shivers when I think how prescient now in retrospect "Eyes Wide Shut" by Stanley Kubrick really was.
Kubrick understood the behind-the-curtains debauchery and moral depravity of the super wealthy.
Kubrick from the Bronx, understood better than anyone, con men like Epstein from Brooklyn and Trump from Queens.
8
The most disturbing information in this article is that this guy taught in a high school.
8
@Fred
How about this: The guy who APPOINTED Jefferey Epstein was Bill Barr's DAD!!!!!!! And he was dismissed from Dalton over it.
12
The unexplained wealth could be explained by the loads upon loads of discs labeled with “Young [redacted] [redacted]”.
A lot of perverts and rapists are sweating right now.
8
@Opinioned!
"A lot of perverts and rapists are sweating right now."
From your lips to God's ears.
5
Yet another of “the best people” Trump is dragging around in his wake. There is hardly a week that goes by without another crawling out from under a rock being turned over. We can add Epstein and Acosta to the ever growing list of the real deplorable Trump has in his best people gang.
5
It strikes me that these are people who produce nothing of value, who add not one thing of use to society. They are certainly not innovators, and they sure don't make the world a better place.
But that they are richly rewarded for their financial manipulations says something about the state of our country -- and it's not good.
30
The Deutsche Bank connection is a thread that runs through this collection of rogues. What percentage of profits in its US private client group was generated from sub-prime customers like Trump, Kushner and Epstein?
20
The developing details of this wicked monster of a person underscore perversity of an entire culture of where wealth, race and gender provide cover for actions that destroy innocent lives. Maybe we need to be angry with ourselves for condoning and turning a blind eye to the actions of businesses, individuals and politicians who we encounter in life who do not represent a morally grounded vision of things. We are all sentinels standing watch and the stakes could not be higher.
16
@Mark Smith Their buddies at 'such and such' church will turn the other cheek, yet if it was a democrat, they'd burn them at the stake.
3
Just another parvenu, the same story as Bernie M. These guys get to rub elbows and the next thing we know, they are well moneyed.
What is always forgotten by these newly minted folks is the responsibility that comes with money and privelage. As Spidey says: "with Great power comes Great responsibility.
7
This is spectacular reporting and dazzling research.
Congratulations to the Times and to the four authors.
54
@frankc Why did the NY Times leave out that it William Barr's father who hired Epstein as a 20 year old college dropout.
3
Why the outrage now? Why not in 2008 when the case came to light? Was it any less detestable then? It seems that political motivation is animating outrage now.
14
@Moso
The real question is why Epstein got such a sweetheart deal in 2008. Was politics involved there?
22
In 2008 nobody foresaw that the country would be in the grip of a single, proto-fascist political party bent on destroying any form of a just democracy in this country. At the time, Trump was just another sleazy, self-promoting playboy with a lousy TV show who liked to party with guys like Epstein, not a wanna-be dictator with major political ambitions. When Trump decided to run for public office, he opened himself up to a higher level of criticism and his bad behavior came under greater public scrutiny. His conduct and character do not pass any smell tests. Trump is a rotten, rancid figure on the American political scene and the sooner we realize it and get him out of office, the better off this country as a whole will be.
20
why do some of us fall for Con men and become so mesmerized by them knowing they will eventually steal from us average folk. Why do their mansions and art impress us so much knowing it is purchased with stolen money? Why do some of us end up defending them and eventually even justifying their dirty actions. Is it that we really fancy what they did in their prime? Thank you for reading this great reporting. We need publications like this
24
@John Those are purely academic questions. The reason con men can do what they do is not because they are amateurs, but just the opposite. They know something you don't know, and speak about it suavely enough (and fast enough) that overcomes any resistance to thinking. (Or your thinking is calmly pushed aside as unnecessary or meaningless. "Never you mind about that, my friend!") And if you're talking to them in the first place, you've already told them that you have an aspiration to wealth. Having a mansion and artwork on the walls only helps the theater of it all and to overcome any defenses.
7
There has to be something there, he isn't buying, paying property taxes, living the high life on air. What the amount is can be debatable. No matter, let him go down as he should have the first time around and all around who participated with him in his evil.
36
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if John Dillinger were a current client of Deutsche Bank's private banking group.
65
So he has even more in common with Trump than we thought. An empire consisting mostly of smoke and mirrors, plus resources generated more by his good fortune and proximity to successful, wealthy men, than by anything he, himself, has done. With a talent for self-promotion in al realms. Shocking!
64
Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Roger Stone, and Jeffrey Epstein. FOUR "coffee boys" in Trump's close orbit to experience no-knock FBI raids. Pretty amazing track record. And it's still early...
126
@Durable Good — Hey, I thought Trump was suppose to be impeached, removed from office, and in jail by now? Wasn't that the narrative by the Rachel Madcow crowd?
LOL.
It is sad that all this filth is out and thoroughly covered in the media just now. It is the same old story. Ambiguous individuals are supported by other mysteriously powerful individuals and the media doesn't cover in the news all the filth, it is not on the right side of the story. When suddenly but not unexpectedly they make an unforgivable mistake, media can make good use of all the filth collected during the years. They can publish it, now it is on the right side of the story.
6
"And friends and patrons — including Mr. Wexner — deserted him after he pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in 2008." I had to read this a couple of times to make certain I was not misunderstanding. Amidst everything, it is truly the most surprising, that he was reduced to that in 2008.
It would appear that Mr. Epstein like so many purportedly financial geniuses is a con artist and that the appearance of great wealth is all done with smoke and mirrors. Bernie Madoff comes immediately to mind.
It would appear that Deutsche Bank is the go to and refuge for many of these chiselers. Just an observation.
Perhaps Mr. Epstein's money has been made from sex trafficking children at "parties" to wealthy clients, since so many of his financial dealings have been unsuccessful.
What a sordid mess this all is. No one knows how this will all shake out in the end, with William Barr now having un-recused himself from the case against Epstein. Absolutely he should have recused himself given the fact that Barr's father hired Epstein to teach in a prestigious school without proper credentials, and he himself worked for a law firm which had represented Epstein in the past. But then again, Barr has no problem with obstructing justice by defying subpoenas.
Mr. Epstein certainly has friends, and former friends in high places who are probably uncomfortable right now with this investigation.
77
Why is no one asking why Leslie Wexner gave him a $75mm UES Mansion for free?
the press needs to find out if Epstein gained his fortune via covert videos? and what he has on his good friend DJT
81
It says in the article that it was not for free: "It was also in 1998 that Mr. Epstein took sole possession of the 71st Street mansion. Mr. Wexner conveyed his interest in the corporation that owned it to one controlled by Mr. Epstein for $20 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction."
2
@mike
umm, because he didn't. Read the article.
2
Imagine in dollar terms the emotional scarring that has occurred in the children he abused.
40
America’s obsession with wealth and success, fawning over the rich, making them celebrities and conflating that wealth with intelligence and character is one of our cultural specialties. Deceiving people and manipulating perceptions to gain that attention is as much an industry here as any legitimate one.
Who are we really upset with when we peel back another one of these frauds?
30
I was going to watch "Eyes Wide Shut" again but realized I don't have to.
I'll just read about it by following the Epstein story.
Stanley Kubrick was so far ahead of his time.
25
@J. Swift
Great insight! Very true.
1
@J. Swift Correction. Arthur Schnitzler was.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Story
1
Epstein's wealth may be more illusion than fact? Hmmm? Who does that remind me of?
27
O' so simple. It took 12 years for the Feds to figure out the man is broke....
3
So once again we have a legend reified by poor journalism. Yet I’m sure the media will continue to bemoan and bewail people unwilling to credit the media with credible reporting on politics, economics and science.
4
You have to wonder why this guy isn't the Acting Secretary of the Treasury.
He certainly hit all the resume points.
72
Using my native Chicagoan crime radar, much may be learned by discovering Epstein's client list. A list of involved rich men, who were more able to afford the costs of illegal prostitution with young girls, may now lead investigators to those who may have applied pressure on Acosta to send Epstein to "prison camp", and to have violated federal law by withholding the judicial outcome from the victims. "Follow the money!"
309
@Richard I agree. Not to hard to figure out what these overly rich men were shopping for when hiring/hanging out with Epstein. Certainly hope investigative reporters can get the info out before it disappears.
37
@Richard
Rich men and influential politicians would be my guess. Negatives in a safe deposit box, as they say.
18
@Richard — Judicial outcomes are public knowledge and the feds never prosecuted Acosta, and never sent him to "prison camp." That was a state prosecution that did that.
it used to be billionaires (or past money equivalents) did useful and incredible stuff like inventing or developing air conditioning, railroads, ipod. Stuff that actually improved a lot of people's lives and created widespread happiness, quality of life, and/or wealth. Now most of them are "hedge fund manager" or "developers" who just start with huge amounts of money, often inherited or borrowed, and make more money (usually in a booming economy, when a passive 401k investment like S&P 500 goes up 50%, and these guys are incredible geniuses because they get returns that are somewhat higher). The only ones who benefit from their genius are a handful of other rich old white guys (almost always the case).
37
@chet
You might wish to study the history of the American railroads and see exactly what the railroad barons were made of, and how they took America for a ride. They make Epstein look like a guy who sells fake Rolex's on the street.
2
I didn't realize at first that this is really an article about our current Fraud in chief.
31
@mjbarr — It's not. Learn how to read.
Whether the NYTimes realizes it or not. This is a searing indictment of the chubby club of national reporting.
Not a SINGLE national newspaper of record ever even bothered to investigate if these people are ever as rich & genius as they proport to be.
There’s always a fraternal order of old white men giving and helping each other pull of vast illusions. Will reporters stop giving old white men the benefit of the doubt? It’s dangerous.
131
Oh, please.
The national media—the honest part, not FOX and Rush—have reported on these clowns again, again, and well, again. There are books. heck, there are LIBRARIES of books, and TV series and movies besides. There’s “Nation,” “Mother Jones,” “IF Stone’s Weekly,”:and a ton of others.
Trump’s house of cards, for example, was widely reported and extensively documented as far back as the 1980s. It was reported in enormous detail in the run-up to 2016.
Know what the response was? It was to scream at Hillary Clinton for some iffy speeches. It was to rant and rave about Al Gore’s plane. It was to yell and whoop and holler about how St. Bernie would Fix It All, for lo, he treadeth not on the smutty floor of Wall Street.
And it was “Hooray, at last we’ll get our own fat crook.”
And it was, “Why doesn’t the CORPORATIST media REPORT this stuff?”
11
@E. Rodriguez - Where is it listed the Epstein claimed to be "richer than he actually is"?
And let's say he's 'poor' (although good luck proving that given he owns 2 private jets and mansions in several states along with his own private island in the Caribbean). But let's say he's not that wealthy or even dirt poor... why does that matter to you?
It seems like you and others are jealous and you enjoy finding out people aren't as wealthy as YOU THOUGHT they were... which has nothing to do with how wealthy they stated they were.
There was something strange about Epstein's story from the start -- when I read that he started his investment firm in 1981 and limited his clients to billionaires only, I thought "Really? How many billionaires even were there in the United States in 1981?" A Google search yielded an article about the founding of the Forbes 400 list, which was started around that same time, and the original threshold for inclusion on that list was net worth of $100 million. So I am guessing the answer to my "how many billionaires" question was "not that many." Which hints to me that the "billionaires-only" rule might have been a smokescreen for something else.
49
@gmg22 a smokescreen for MONEY LAUNDERING! (among many other illegal and highly profitable enterprises), which I hope, at some point, will finally come to light.
21
@gmg22
Really good point. Also, even “billionaires” don’t have a billion or so in spare cash to invest with an unproven fund manager. Epstein was a fraud from day one.
16
@gmg22 — Apparently you know nothing about the finance or investment industry. There are plenty of "billion dollar investors" that are with pensions funds, investment funds, trust funds, endowment funds, etc., that do not come from the bank accounts of individual billionaires.
So your confusion over who his billion-dollar + investors are is just that: your confusion.
1
Epstein, Hoffenberg, Trump - these guys are so obvious. How does anyone fall for their lascivious grift?
32
Same with Weinstein and Clinton - both dems. Let’s be unbiased here. There are creeps on both sides of the aisle.
1
It’s hardly surprising that a serial sexual predator child rapist is also a conman.
How could it be any other way?
78
Just another pseudo-rich, lying, conning, sexual predator psychopath.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 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.”
Donald Trump 2002
77
@Socrates — Where's your reference to the fact that Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's private plane — nicknamed "Lolita Express" over 20 times (something Trump never did once) — and that Trump kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago for sexually assaulting a girl?
Donny is only into his daughter. How dare you insinuate he would cheat on Ivanka!
4
This article is tabloid gossip that should not be published on the front page of the NYT. It is Schadenfreude tabloid journalism.
1
@No Not really. This article is one of many where we the people tear down the artificial walls of these billionaire con-men. It is important that this is done as much as possible in order to return our society to some sense of normalcy. In fact, I would like to see MORE articles like this. It is high time we slap these pretenders off their perches as hard as possible.
31
It’s news. We want to know how a math teacher ends up with a billion dollars and how the billionaire and his billionaire friends got away with trafficking children for sex. Should we ignore it?
11
This guy sounds like a pimp, a rich pimp, but a pimp all the same. Turning out young girls and trading them to the highest bidder. This type is the lowest of the low.
46
I suspect that once we're able to pry Cocked & Loaded's tax returns from his little fingers, we'll see a similar headline regarding him. Not that it will make any difference to his sheep.
66
How about the many homes scattered here and there.
I suspect he is of great wealth but also of great stealth in ability to hide it around the world.
16
@SMB
Hidden wealth is illegitimate and, as such, should not count in portrayals of status.
5
Well we don’t know who really owns his many homes, do we?
1
He's a bit of a Gatsby-esque character, seemingly smoke and mirrors.
What's interesting is that people in the industry - hedge fund managers, private equity guys, and lawyers can't seem to figure out where his money comes from. Even the fictitious Thomas Crown left a pretty wide trail behind him. But this guy? Nothing.
22
Watch Samantha Bee's video of a young Ivanka talking about the time she was walking down the street with her father and they pass a homeless guy. He's about eight billion dollars richer than I am, he says, that's how much debt I'm in. Courtesy of YouTube. The great businessman.
30
The name Trump could easily be substituted for Epstein in the headline and throughout this article.
63
I was thinking the same thing...
5
I want to know:
Why did William Barr's father give young dropout Epstein a cushy gig teaching kids?
Why did Mr Wexler give Epstein a 77mm property for free?
Is there any evidence that Epstein actually has investment clients?
Was Epstein working for foreign or domestic intelligence? Cia, Mossad or Saudis?
What the heck were all these public figures doing on Epstein's airplane and private island?
169
@meowmix
i read someplace that the original house was bought for 17.3 m and put in an entity that was later transferred to epstein for 20 m
sorry can't remember the source
so it looks like he paid money for it
4
@smithe
It was IN THIS STORY. "It was also in 1998 that Mr. Epstein took sole possession of the 71st Street mansion. Mr. Wexner conveyed his interest in the corporation that owned it to one controlled by Mr. Epstein for $20 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction."
And: "A corporation controlled jointly by the two men bought a mansion on East 71st Street in Manhattan in 1989 for $13.2 million,..."
5
@meowmix
and, most importantly, why are you asking questions that are either based on false premises (the article explains that Wexner didn't "give him" the house) or answered in the article itself?
Was it not relevant to this story that the headmaster of the Dalton School that hired Epstein was the Attorney General's father?
Perhaps Epstein's money came from fellow travelers - at high levels in government, Hollywood and politics, who enjoyed the fruits of his predatory trafficking of children for sex. What a disgrace all round. Barr should recuse.
94
So handsome, so smooth, so sick. His friends of long standing would still be so, but for the recent child charges made public in NYC. Talk about the trail of money all you want, but those well-honed business skills of funding, procurement, administration, organization, logistics were all in the service of Epstein et. al. and their psychoses. The real issue is, and should always be, the abuse of women and children. One last thought, I believe related...I suspect that the resistance to women's advancement to the highest ranks, which God forbid might bring some moral sensitivity to business is, in part, designed to enable this disgusting behavior. I know of no female equivalent to it.
66
@Jeanette
Interesting. I never thought of it before but no boys club could admit a woman when they are secretly engaged in behavior such as thus! Even Trump and Epstein's perfectly legal catalog "models" exploitation party would be unsuitable for a woman of stature. From now on, I will wonder about exclusive men's groups and what they do behind the scenes.
29
@Beth
You are so right! From Frat houses, to private mens clubs, to football teams and Catholic and other 'Christian' ministries we see countless examples of boys and men, separated from a coed life behaving very badly.
11
@Jeanette Sadly there IS a female equivalent of sorts, in Caribbean sex tourism for older women. The are plenty of articles on this phenomenon.
"Jeffrey Epstein’s Fortune May Be More Illusion Than Fact"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet another thing he has in common with trump!
No wonder trumples doesn't want his taxes released nor provide info on his businesses.
But we already know he's a pathological liar.
41
@NativeSon
what about the lawsuit against epstein AND TRUMP . charges were rape (by both of them) it was linked in an opinion piece in nyt. So, it was dropped? Who paid off who?
Is this finally the last straw for our President?
2
DeutscheBank . . . Let’s look again at Justice Kennedy’s son and why the Justice—Mr. Swingvote—suddenly decided to retire
123
Thank you. That whole situation stinks to high heaven.
12
So obviously Epstein was a con man who easily duped Barr at Dalton, a love-sick Wexner at Limited Brands, and countless rubes at Bears Stearn and Deutsche Bank.
20
If Deutsche Bank knew the federal charges were coming, sure the White House knew he would be arrested. I wonder if Ms. Huckabee knew as well. Is it possible defending a President that spoke highly of a sexual predator and pedophile would be too much for her??
19
@Concerned Citizen Don't give her that much credit. She had no problem with the accusations of 24 women, not to mention his Access Hollywood tape,
14
@Concerned Citizen, to be clear, she has been working and lying for a confessed sexual predator! Hard to even consider that THIS would be the “beyond the pale” situation that was too hard for SHS to stand in for.
6
I believe her mouth would speak whatever she was programmed to say . But I also thought I detected pain in her eyes at times of obvious lying assignments .
1
The hiding of the money occurred long ago.
Could this man be a spy for another country?
Why is Les Wexner tied to him?
14
Welcome to Trump's world....
20
Misleading headline. He has a fortune, just not the fortune he claimed. When the average household income in the U.S. is reportedly around $55,000 and Epstein has over $200 million in real-estate alone, he indeed has a fortune.
I think the Times is losing sight of how ordinary people live. When a man has real estate worth of $200 million and the Times claims his wealth is illusory the same week that it reports that in 200 cities, the median house now costs $1 million (which usually indicates one needs household income of $330,000 annually to support it), it's reflecting a view of the world as if everyone was in the 1% instead of the 99%.
Instead of harping over just how rich or not he is, maybe the Times should investigate whether he paid the appropriate taxes on his wealth and his real estate holdings or did he wangle "sweetheart" deals there as well.
It's time for Americans to wake up, especially Republicans, and understand that this entire country is rigged to favor the very rich.
106
@Martin Brooks Thank you Mr. Brooks. for your formidable suggestion. I too would like to see what the NYT can find out about his taxes.
10
The article SPECIFICALLY says that Epstein has a ton of money, just not the billion-plus he said he had.
5
@Potlemac
I think that's commercial real estate that gets to take the depreciation, not personal property. Unless he does Airbnb out of the mansion, he can't take the depreciation.
I've not heard or read that Epstein was a real estate tycoon, just a hedge fund guy.
1
One thing leaps out in each of these articles--the compliance of a lackadaisical media in repeating stories about so-called rich people's wealth. Where was the reporting into this wealth? Again and again, the articles repeat what earlier articles said about his being a billionaire. As someone else in this thread says, how did he make his money? Was he borrowing it from Wexner et al.? Reports say he "owns" multi-million dollar properties in NY and elsewhere, but what kind of spiders' web of financial structures does this entail? Or is it a house of cards of various corporate and private ownerships that he is tangentially connected to. Thank heavens for the Miami Herald's Julie K. Brown or this would all still be under the carpet. Some original reporting, please, NYTimes, not just repetitions of what Epstein told Vanity Fair, etc.
56
Smoke and mirrors, and major business failures. Sounds familiar.
29
Okay, but where did Epstein make his money from? This article doesn't explain where he got his enormous wealth from. Ponzi scheme anyone?? More crimes here to investigate.
33
@SJK
Hopefully at the end of this all, whatever wealth he has will be distributed to his victims.
2
There are no mysteries about Epstein or Trump.
They are both crooks, swindlers, connivers, wannabe-billionaires and exploiters-of-women-and-girls from top-to-bottom and side-to-side.
Birds-of -feather flock together.
Every action they take is calculated for personal gain, with loyalty to no one except themselves.
Lies come as easy for them as breathing-out and breathing-in.
This is widely known.
40
Birds-of-a-feather flock together.
2
Epstein may not be what he claims he is, but he certainly lived like a multi Billionaire.
He will now live in prison for the rest of his life where he may find himself attacked by Sexual predators.
God has a sense of Humor.
16
You’ve got way more trust in the so-called US ‘justice’ system than I do.
8
Birds of a feather flock together, and these two sexual assaulters may have something else in common. It is also thought that Trump's superabundant "means" may also be an illusion.
13
@Jeffrey Vogelgesang
Birds of a feather flock together - meaning Bill Clinton is in the same boat as Epstein as well?
So, a rich old guy who has lied about his actual wealth, has ties to deutch bank and, has avoided proper punishment for assaulting young women. Good thing that there's only the one, huh? Not a fan.
24
Lies about his worth? Who cares.
Who shut down the federal portion of this indictment and prosecution?
Did Acosta just do what he was told?
Who approved the secret deal to keep the victims in the dark about Epstein’s non prosecution deal?
How did Acosta appear on Trump’s list for Secretary of Labor?
I’d bet lots of powerful men are squirming.
75
@Nancy, Exactly!
The story is out there now, all these little piecemeal vignettes in different papers about this horrible, soulless man is just deflecting from the real and needed story.
Who’s involved and how are they involved?
If people aided and abetted or participated in his sex trafficking and abuse of vulnerable minors then name them now.
And if it includes a president, past presidents, heads of corporations, politicians, jurists, entertainment big wigs ....whomever! Tell us now and clean house.
The media becomes complicit by not doubling down at this point and putting it all out there.
They’ve manages to reveal the abuses and who did them in the Catholic Church through years of exhaustive reporting, so do it now with this. Continue the fine work of the exposé and put the truth on the front page.
21
@Nancy Not to mention he never reported to NYC police as a registered sex offender, as required by law. Failure to do so is automatic jail time. Who in NYC covered that up?
23
Yes! The Question about the Palm Beach deal is: WHY??!!
There’s your investigative story!
3
"there is little evidence that Mr. Epstein is a billionaire."
"Mr. Epstein, 66, is doubtless very rich: His real estate alone — one of Manhattan’s largest private mansions, a Palm Beach estate, a Paris apartment, his own Caribbean island and a huge New Mexico ranch — is worth more than $200 million."
Doesn't evidence that his real estate is worth $200mm support an argument that Mr. Epstein may in fact be a billionaire? Do you think he has close to 100% of his net worth in real estate?
2
So many billionaires, so few morals. Being in control of gobs of money apparently triggers a universal eraser that deletes the part of the brain that recognizes right from wrong. A review of every president-for-life, pharmaceutical company CEO, dictator, and plain old mogul inspires a repellent, shivery disgust in most of us. The rich really are different that you and me. They find absolute joy in the stuff that most people find just plain sickening.
19
Not always, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates come to mind, but you are right that great wealth is often a corrupting influence.
5
@Anaboz - Good point. It's worth noting that Buffett and Gates actually worked for their money.
3
Epstein (and Trump) are giving new life to the term, "Filthy Lucre".
8
How do we get out of this tawdry, cheap, nasty, scuzzy soap opera?
How is it that these tenth-rate, sleezy guys are even born, let alone thrive and prosper and become president?
Lock 'im up!
25
We want the big fish.. This is the bait.
41
@Warren Bobrow I'm waiting for the assitant/procurers to accept a plea deal for the dirt on EVERYBODY.
12
@Ms M. Think Witness Protection.
4
@Warren Bobrow He'll die of a mysterious illness long before anything happens.
1
For the life of me I cannot rationalize why Deutsche Bank is still operating in New York City, London and elsewhere...catering to a bevy of immoral hucksters, snake oil salesmen, failed real estate people, and is now involved in a huge Malaysian fraud.
37
@Confucius Maybe because a lot of these sleaze bags’ kids work for Deutsche Bank etc. After all, the casino that the media calls Wall Street is the largest employer of Ivy League graduates. Did Epstein’s so-called gift to Harvard involve admissions favors for his clients’ children, too?
1
Whether he is a billionaire, a millionaire or a bagful or "aire", he deserves to go to prison, and Acosta deserves to be tried for believing the money myth and being scared to prosecute. C'mon folks! Hold these people, including their role models, accountable!
21
Are you sure the money myth is the reason for Acosta’s actions?
@Anaboz How many supreme court judges attended his get together's? I figure at least two, and we already know their names.
So is your real purpose in writing this the contention Epstein isn’t that rich, so the deal he got in Florida was not so bad?
3
So Deutsche Bank exits the global trading and investment banking busines and fires 18,000 workers. I guess if they did have real controls over who they were doing business with maybe they would not be the new Titanic. They have some roster of dubious past clients.
21
It would seem that Epstein took money from transactions in which he participated and might have used a lot of debt to leverage his deals so that his fees were huge. If his business activities are audited, he might very well have been involved in fraud and money laundering, as well as taking other people’s money as an intermediary.
12
@Casual Observer
"It would seem" "might have" "if" "might very well have"
What is the point of a comment like this?
His wealth such as it is seems likely to be stored in a safe on CDs labeled with names we would all shudder to recognize. Let’s hope his “assets” prove insufficient in this case, but let’s not hold our breaths.
12
Has anyone considered the possibility (probability?) that whatever wealth he has (had) and connections he forged were due to setting up his rich bro-pals with underage girls at his island and other sheltered, out of the way spots?
593
@Jerry
Do you really think he was that clever? Remember, he was the same guy who went for girls from disadvantaged circumstances, broken homes etc., “girls than no one would believe”.
Epstein AND his pals are all predators of young, innocent women.
32
@Jerry
Sounds like a classic bonding ritual.
Do something shady in a group and the entire group is dependent on one another to keep quiet.
When one of them needs something from another group member, the threat of blackmail is an unspoken given.
If one of them squeals or screws up enough to get caught, the other members will throw that person under the bus.
Instant corporate loyalty.
A little more effective than those team-building exercises at the convention.
42
@Jerry
Yes.
This is exactly how I think he amassed his wealth.
And why "so many" are willing to protect him.
Dirty secrets the rich and powerful want to keep hidden.
42
This sounds like the recent reporting on Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin. Interesting that she was on trial for faking rich... while really it sounds like she was just following a well-established playbook.
7
was there any complaint of wrongdoing at the school he taught? when did this predation begin?
15
How does this guy get onto the faculty at the allegedly prestigious Dalton School when he does not have a college degree? Was there another "fixer" in the wings here as well?
32
Private schools don’t adhere to the same hiring standards as regulated, public schools.
10
@Frank
The current Attorney General William Barr's father recommended him for the position.
What a small world, a bit like Forrest Gump.
20
@Ghost So the more expensive places have less-qualified faculty? I believe you, but it speaks volumes about what privileged people value...namely having their kids educated in a cohort of "people like us" rather than being educated in a classroom by even a minimally qualified professional.
8
The problem with accurately evaluating the wealth of guys like Epstein is their connections with off shore accounts and banks like Deutsche Bank. These "conveniences", like the Panamanian Papers have showed, make accounting for the wealth and power of these people extremely difficult and this article never is really able to get to the bottom of Epstein's wealth creation. Until such vehicles are made accountable and transparent the power of people like Epstein will continue. And unfortunately in America money begets power even when wheeled by psychopaths like Epstein.
20
Not a billionaire and not so brilliant either, but smug, awful and a criminal, just like trump. Both are good examples for our kids of what immoral looks like, what NOT to become, and the types of people to steer clear of at all costs.
40
@moosemaps
So true. Throw in a rich father and he IS Trump.
11
Deutsche Bank keeps popping up in these stories.
It "lost" 1.5 billion in one quarter.
"Lost" is the new euphemism for "laundered".
Dirty to the core.
75
"At one point, compliance officers at Deutsche Bank raised concerns about transactions by Mr. Epstein’s company, because he posed reputational risk to the bank"
Isn't that pretty much what they said about Donald Trump? Boy, those private wealth managers at Deutsche Bank really know how to pick their clients, don't they?
If I were Germany, I'd ask for my name back.
223
@Observor Deutsche Bank, the bank that financed the building of Auschwitz, is concerned about its reputation. Nice.
35
Sadly it seems that our business culture can't seem to recognize the symptoms of indecent wealth.
31
@Scott S Our business culture rarely looks into the mirror and asks penetrating questions, they just look and preen.
8
In God we trust.
Never realized our entire country is a faith based enterprise.
Increasingly disillusioned by the web of illusions that defines success in our country.
Enron should have woken people up that auditors don’t audit.
47
Psst...it’s the real estate...what an illusion home ownership is.
2
According to The Times, Epstein never graduated from college yet he was hired as a teacher at the Dalton School.
Don't even private schools in New York have to follow some rules regarding the education of the teachers they hire? Obviously, no one without even a college degree could be hired as a full time teacher at an NYC public school.
47
No because they are PRIVATE. They can hire as they wish.
13
@Songbird,
I also was very surprised to read that such an exclusive school would hire a teacher who didn’t have a college degree, and I suppose, who also didn’t have certification.
This is so beyond weird.
22
@Songbird
In supporting private charter schools which take public money but completely lack public accountability, divorce of teaching and competence seems to be one of the goals of our Secretary of Education, Betsey De Vos.
41
After reading about its business with Trump and Epstein, it sounds like Deutsche Bank is less like a bank and more like a criminal enterprise. You have to wonder why it even has compliance officers as it seems that it always ignores their recommendations.
268
This narrative makes me wonder even more what Donald Trump's finances are going to look like when they finally become public. After all he is, or was, another client of Deutsche Bank's private banking operation. In BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, Tom Wolfe has a character so burdened with debt that he can't pay his bills even with an income of $ 1 million a year. Epstein's financial history suggests something similar. It's my guess that Donald Trump's will as well. BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES may well prove a fitting subtitle to a history of Trump's and not just Epstein's rise and fall.
176
@Skeptic Donald is busy lining his pockets with money from the treasury as I write this.
14
@Skeptic I tell my husband all the time we are living in a Tom Wolfe novel. In fact, if it was a Tom Wolfe novel it would be considered a farce.
4
Yet another expert at the shell game. or maybe I mean 3-Card Monte. How stupid the truly rich must be to fall for this guy's schtick.
Please, this time, let's expose him for what he truly is - a sexual predator. And, let's hope this set of prosecutors will not be blinded by money, political connections or pressure or aggressive defense lawyers.
94
@elise
"How stupid the truly rich must be to fall for this guy's schtick"
How do you know this?!? Maybe he made them tons of money or benefited them in some other ways??
1
@Laidback
I think you are correct. They had their eyes wide open but Epstein’s wares were like catnip to a cat.
2
Wealth is assets less liabilities. Reporting what his real estate is worth without knowing how much debt there is on each propriety is, for the purposes of this story, meaningless. He may be worth a quarter billion he may be worth far far far less. No idea.
One thing we do know. Only a sickeningly weak and insecure man would prey on young women. Under that smug grin is a pathetic weak-kneed sad little boy.
122
@Baldwin // using "pathetic" as a description of this creep is giving him sympathy that he doesn't deserve. He is a disgusting filthy creature and deserves to spend the rest of his life in a very dark cell someplace.
15
@Baldwin
you don't need to be weak and insecure to prey on teenagers. Men have been doing this for many, many years.
If, as a society, we feel it is wrong, then we need to prosecute all - rich, poor, and middle class.
8
@Baldwin
Reporters and commentators need to substitue the word “children” for “young women” in most incidences referring to Epstein’s systematic attack on girls under the age of 17. He is a pedophile.
2
Ah, Deutsche Bank. Of course.
165
@NB Hernandez, only the "best people" and the "finest banks"!
13
The New York Times identified Epstein as a billionaire financier only four days ago. Did that actually mean anything?
The press have been referring to Epstein as some Gatsbyesque figure for almost 20 years. Was that never a story worth investigating?
If the media cannot determine his relative net-worth and the source of his wealth then I say we have little hope for any factual reporting. We would be left to read press releases issued by these ultra wealthy criminals and to endure their malfeasance. It’s like royalty and we disposed of that in the US some time ago. NYT, please sharpen your pencil.
217
@Col Flagg - Excellent points.
7
@Col Flagg There are many such Epsteins in the public sphere. Much of it is smoke and mirrors. Some such people are even high government officials. Very high.
13
@Col Flagg
This illusion was reported in a Vanity Fair profile in 2002, which appears to be the basis for this article. It has been a red flag to me for the past few days to see media reports calling him a 'billionaire hedge fund manager', when there is no proof of either his wealth or occupation; these media outlets have been blindly repeating his own spin.
31
A lack of accounting and accountability promotes ill gotten gains from ponzi schemes, money laundering (especially in real estate), and corruption at the highest levels. These loops need to be closed and regulations/laws enforced.
46
Looks to be that Mr. Epstein lost his rich-man protection when the rest the elite found out he wasn't a rich man. Back in '08 when Acosta gave him a pass, the glitterati must have still believed he was rich, but now they know he's a fraud so off to prison with him.
Get it? This is NOT about the victims. He's going to prison solely because he's a little person that invaded their hallowed space. If he was actually rich, it's unlikely this conversation would exist at all.
101
@Dav M Though without the persistent reporting out of Miami, he would be a free man today.
19
The similarities between Epstein and our current president are astounding. Both project an image of having immense wealth, yet they are actually being bankrolled by others. In Trump’s case his wealth is actually Saudi and Russian wealth - not his. (That is why Donald sued Deutsch Bank to stall release of his financial records.)
Both men are attracted to much younger women, although Epstein appears to have even more puerile inclinations than Donald.
Both are pathological liars protected by “the system.”
It is no wonder that before this case came back to the forefront that Donald praised Epstein as being a wonderful man. A great guy. Really smart. Probably another stable genius.
315
Remember the comment Trump made when he saw a young girl 11 or younger in some tour of his building I think. Something along the lines that "she will be mine". This was mentioned during the campaign
13
@Greg, I am amazed at how many super wealthy people are truly twisted.
9
While Mr. Epstein's resources are not unlimited he has friends in high places that can grant him a full pardon.
23
@George N. Wells He only needs one such friend.
2
Another through-line: Forbes is duped.
19
@R. Bartlett But they exposed Secretary Wilbur Ross’ attempt to inflate his net worth...
1
@R. Bartlett Pretty shoddy reporting on Forbes' front don't you think? How much investigating do they do to make sure that their information is true? So basically don't believe Forbes, the press or polls. Who's left?
1
Whatever became of the comment the Acosta made earlier in the week about his struggle with working out a plea deal with Epstein. Acosta was repeatedly mentioning that Epstein was "intelligence" material, or connected to intelligence. Was Epstein a spy, or was he connected to the CIA or Mossad, as some of his former comrades were connected to Israel?
Just wondered.
And is it not a tiny planet, to be connected to Bill Barr's Dad.
Incredible
What a crazy group that people have to trust to run the country
79
@John Mullowney
Interesting. Just like corporate deals and meetings sometimes end up with drinks at a strip club, I wonder if international corporate and finance deals with British and Saudi Arabia princes, past and future playboy presidents, and the like end up on private islands with dyonisian male bonding rituals over their pedophile prey provided by one talented Mr. Epstein.
3
It's more than a little interesting and not at all coincidental that there's a move to create a little folk-hero halo around Epstein. When the dirt he's got, mentioned in Alexandra Pelosi's "faves" comment, is outed, less tarnish will attach to his orgiastic cohorts.
5
Who finds it disgusting in retrospect that this sexual predator of under-aged girls was a high school math teacher. I guess he imagined that role would afford him access to victims until he realized that great wealth would be even more effective. As we saw from Harvey’s case, as long as cash is flowing, everyone looks the other way.
68
Such good work on this NYT, a window into rapacious capitalism, whether it's raping corporations, females of all ages, tax payers, markets, the environment, or society, it's all on a continuum of staggering sociopathy. And Deutsche Bank seems to be a key node in all of this. Pls do more re Justice Kennedy's connections there and his decision to step down and a key moment in the slow dismantling of our democracy.
142
Hummmm...where have we heard this before?
19
I'm just shocked. Who would have thought that we had another fake billionaire associated with Deutsche Bank?
69
I'm surprised that the NY Times did not report that US Attorney William Barr's father Donald was the headmaster at Dalton in 1973 and that he hired Epstein as a calculus and physics teacher. The connections in this case will be illuminating. Deutsch bank has a lot of information on a lot of people too as they have favored them over the years. So far then there are 2 very highly placed people in this sleazy administration who have had very cozy relationships with Epstein. Do the supposedly fervidly patriotic Trump supporters care that these are the "very best people" that Trump puts into our government? NYT needs to keep reporting about the lifestyles of the rich and famous and prosecutors need to go after trafficking and bank fraud and money laundering. Enough is enough with this rampant and unsavory white collar crime.
79
Another imaginary "billionaire ". Wallet Envy.
Sad.
18
When you make your fortune trafficking in women and girls it tends not to regulated by the SEC.
63
If he's not among the super-wealthy we can prosecute him for real. That's what it comes down to.
53
@J.D. that may be the true social value behind the Times’ focus on his finances: if it can be shown that Epstein is not a chartered member of the Billionaires Immunity Society, he might have to face justice as a mortal.
12
This sordid saga does not paint the US system of justice in a flattering light. I hope that the prosecutors in Round 2 are not blinded by the accused’s association with current and past presidents or a sociopath’s talent for creating smokescreens of wealth and power.
46
Thank you, New York Times, for your informative articles related to this unfolding story. I'm proud to be a subscriber.
139
@Panthiest I agree. This investigative work is what makes the Times so very special. Not the fashion/lifetyle/celebrity stories. If I wanted to listen to an actor, model, musician, or fashion designer drone on about their work, I would just turn on the television.
I will continue to subscribe as long as the Times produces high quality work like this article.
42
@Panthiest I am shocked you all think this is news. This tabloid journalism doesn't belong on the front page of the NYT.
We want to know how a math teacher ends up a billionaire and gets away with trafficking girls for sex. Or should we sweep the story under the rug.
7
Epstein's story of wealth that wasn't quite what it had been reported to be sounds very much like Donald Trump's purported wealth which, if it were actually investigated, might prove to be much less than Trump would like us to believe. In fact, it is likely that Mr. Trump's real wealth may be much less than One billion. I wonder what all those rubes, who think Trump is a great businessman, would think of his business prowess if they actually knew what he is really worth in real dollars?
83
"Deutsche Bank’s private-banking division, which caters to ultrawealthy individuals and families."
DB seems to be a key player in international money laundering/fraud/criminal activities.
362
@BKNY guess who's son was in that division? Supreme Court Justice Kennedy
38
@BKNY
They serve as the easily duped rubes as the American big players outsource the exposure risks, as they did when they repackaged worthless collateral as tremendous investment assets, rated triple A by the conniving rating agencies. Europe is still aching under the burden that fraud shoved into its stomach nonetheless and never mind it's impossible to stomach really, and, apparently, none the richer in wisdom either.
Deutsche Bank just gave the outside world the illusion that they cleaned house by firing a couple of speculative investment divisions and the entire teams working there in a move creating images eerily reminiscent of pictures of Lehman Brothers bankers packing.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/09/deutsche-bank-bosses-fitted-1200-suits-thousands-lost-jobs-london
German news outlets paint an even much more dramatic picture. Employees are escorted out of the building immediately after having been informed they are fired, and an employee who is still there is quoted with: "Everything is collapsing here."
Now if these divisions took their documentation with them into the void, it might as well have been the master protective move for their mighty protector clients annex puppet masters in Russia and the U.S. of A. who will return the protection favor (or not).
Germany already wisely avoided taxing Google, Amazon & co who manage to evade most taxes with their wicked tax avoidance constructions, to avoid getting hit back with (auto) tariffs.
1
@gc,
Lest you forget, the son of William Barr is a signatory of a piece of that allowed Trump to launder Putin’s money.
16
Trump’s so-called wealth is probably an even bigger mirage.
111
As ingenious as our financial system and culture have been at creating wealth, they can create social petri dishes that multiply into some pretty foul creatures. Madoff in the previous decade and Epstein in this one. And untold numbers of others, you can be sure.
58
@Maj. Upset Is it possible some have even made as far as the Oval Office?
21
@Maj. Upset:
Amazing that nobody has mentioned what this reminds me of:
The Braniff "party" airline saga in the '70s, which seemed to be created and run for a few powerful executives.
Maybe I'm just dating myself.
3
@RLW Yup. And the current occupant is NOT the first. Kinda de-values the office! ;-)
This article is missing something very important, the source of Epstein's wealth. It talks all around this issue but never explains the fundamental way his wealth was accumulated.
440
@John G
My thoughts exactly! It skirts all around the one thing we need to know - how did he actually MAKE any money!
I had to go back and re-read a couple of times - especially when I got to the bit where he was able to pledge $30 million to Harvard - because I thought I must have missed something.
109
@John G
Most likely the author doesn't know the answer to that. They can only tell you what they know.
39
Apparently Mr. Epstein made his money as a hedge fund manager at Bear Stearns, where Greenberg got him in after Epstein tutored his son in math. I don’t know what skills are really needed there, a lot of it seems to depend on whom you get as a client, and, remember, it is hedging against loss. It sounds like he made out well until he gave an illegal loan, and after starting his own firm, continued doing whatever he did before. Not clear how much if anything clever algorithms had to do with his success.
18
The person responsible for the the college drop-out's drop at Dalton was Bill Barr's father. What a coincidence! Put some military uniforms on Trump's entire "coterie", Cabinet, and family, and the whole group could pass for any random grossly corrupt African dictatorship, replete with torturing their "enemies". But lucky for them, they're white, so it's all fine, right, GOP voters?
601
@CarolSon We Republican voters love Donald Trump because he is a successful billionaire businessman who knows more about the economy than the economists. We admire those who tell us what we want to hear. We will continue to vote against our own self-interests, because regardless of whether we are better off with a Republican led government, we know we are better than those bleeding heart Liberals.
49
@CarolSon
What I learned here today and what I find very interesting, as a retired public school teacher, is that Epstein, a college dropout, was teaching at a tony New York private school. Wow. I thought private schools were so much better than public.
Actually what I know is that the quality of teaching is not necessarily better at private schools. It’s another chance for people with money to separate themselves from the common folk and convince themselves it is better because they are spending big on it.
63
@CarolSon
I think everyone has heard of a virus called Epstein-Barr (mononucleosis). It just came to mind.
57
New ad campaign. "Deutsche Bank. All Game, No Shame."
132
"......Deutsche Bank raised concerns about transactions by Mr. Epstein’s company, because he posed reputational risk to the bank,..."
Reputation? Deutsche Bank seems to be a Zelig figure in many of our recent bad behavior scandals.
117
@DLNYC
With Money Laundering being a large part of it. Epstein could have chosen the Virgin Islands for the scenery and the privacy, but it's also just a very, short flight to Carribbean Islands known for Money Laundering, like Antigua and Barbuda which are just over an hour away
5
Epstein: A college dropout who somehow got a job teaching calculus and physics at Dalton, perhaps New York City's toniest private school, because he had an "in' with acting AG William Barr's father (Donald Barr) who was the Head of School at the time. A decade earlier, Dalton was rocked by a scandal involving a former head of school, Gardner Dunnan, who was accused of having "inappropriate sexual contact" with a 14-year-old student (are we seeing the picture here?). The current regime, like all dictatorships, is built on lies, greed, impunity, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and mediocrity, It gathers to it people who have something to hide and can be controlled. Mediocrity, oddly enough, may be the most important characteristic of Trump's circle. These are people who can't speak Spanish but attempt to do so on live TV (Acosta), cannot graduate from college (Epstein), and pay people to do his work in college (as I suspect Trump did) and then start fake colleges in order to dupe others out of their money (Trump University). The abuse of women, the covering up of that abuse, and the trading of favors between abusers will go down in history as one of the main characteristics of this Administration and its circle of rogues. But the real glue that binds them is dumb, lazy and perverse—and all the work to cover up for dumb, lazy and perverse.
902
@Me
Beautifully stated and perfectly accurate.
94
@Me "But hey the economy is good so he's got my vote," she says never.
45
@Me
Great comment but how do you end up rich and successful if you are dumb and lazy?
12
Why is it that we look closely at every shady, sketchy double-dealer, and every financial fraud scheme scheme these days, once the layers of deception are peeled away, there it is at the center of the onion - DeutscheBank!!
521
@Edward or Goldman
21
@Edward
They serve as the easily duped rubes as the American big players outsource the exposure risks, as they did when they repackaged worthless collateral as tremendous investment assets, rated triple A by the conniving rating agencies. Europe is still aching under the instomachable burden that fraud shoved into its stomach nonetheless and, apparently, nonethericher in wisdom.
Deutsche Bank just gave the outside world the illusion that they cleaned house by firing a couple of speculative investment divisions and the entire teams working there in a move creating images eerily reminiscent of pictures of Lehman Brothers bankers packing.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/09/deutsche-bank-bosses-fitted-1200-suits-thousands-lost-jobs-london
This article in German is even drawing a much more dramatic picture:
https://www.focus.de/finanzen/boerse/deutsche-bank-entlassungen-haben-schon-begonnen-alles-bricht-zusammen_id_10904976.html
Now if these divisions took their documentation with them into the void, it might as well have been the master protective move for their mighty reciprocally protector clients annex puppet masters in Russia and the U.S. of A.
9
The same Deutschebank involved in widespread Russian money laundering and massive underwriting of Trump projects. The same bank where former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s son was a prominent executive praised by Trump himself. The same Justice who jumped when Trump said jump and resigned from the court so Trump could install the radical Gorsuch. The tentacles of Russian plutocratic corruption are entwining every branch of our government.
32
As far as the man's actual wealth and business acumen go, the name Bernie Madoff comes to mind.
68
Deutsche Bank and Epstein’s Financial Trust Company based out of the Virgin Islands makes it easy for foreign dollars to flow in and out and keep the false front up. Plus, who really quibbles over billionaire vs multimillionaire besides the few who are one or the other? Still, glad for this report and clarity on the apparent exaggeration of Epstein’s wealth. He sure does share many similarities to the man who occupies our White House and that includes convincing the incurious that he’s “a great guy.”
53
If Epstein actually owns those things outright, and keeps two very expensive private jets flying, then there is real money there somewhere.
If the reporter can't find the money, we can still use of IRS method of finding the spending.
Add up what we know he owns and spending, then tell us he hasn't got money.
44
@Mark Thomason
Don’t forget Madoff had tons of money too. As long as suckers keep giving money and not cashing out, the scheme works.
Couple the fact that when they do ask for their money, all he had to do was say, “remember that ‘massage’ you got at my place in Palm Beach? I do because I taped it”.
32
@Mark Thomason
Plus $30 million pledged to Harvard.
10
@Mark Thomason There's more likely a network of fellow trafficking creeps propping him up for fear of exposure.
18
Donald Trump's billionaire claims are also a mirage.
Real billionaires fly Gulfstreams or Falcons, not rickety old second-hand 757s.
I guess Donald and Jeffrey have something in common, no?
156
@Dave T. Sounds like they have more than one thing in common...
22
More than one thing in common!
1
The illusion of wealth reminds me of close associates of Jeffery. Does both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton ring a bell?
Having wealth doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is Evil, but the Love of it does!
33
@Eric Cosh In addition to Trump and Clinton, a 2003 Vanity Fair article about Epstein (mentioned in another Times piece) also names Woody Allen, Kevin Spacey, Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew of England as close buddies.
Perhaps Epstein is a missing link in many of the scandals and abuse allegations of the last 20 years.
27
Honesty is a rare virtue.
27
@ArmandoI:
Not sure Honesty is considered a virtue anymore.
Lying seems to be the "in" thing to be admired.
At least in some circles.
7
Epstein is in some ways unique and in other ways a garden variety conman, white collar criminal and sexual predator. Obviously, he has a very high IQ. It is also obvious he is a sociopath, to be included in the pantheon of sociopaths that include Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, James Hoffenberg and many many more.
I believe his industry, investment banking, is a magnet for this kind of personality. Some have become giants of the industry. The link to one very powerful man when he was teaching at the Dalton School (perhaps the most elite private school in New York) set him on his way. He used his brains and criminality to develop a career extracting money from billionaires. He then gratiated himself was another pantheon
of celebrities, intellectuals, scientists, statesmen et al.
Unfortunately for him, his deviancy finally caught up with him. But he isn't alone. We have so many poster boys.
257
@Yankelnevich - Dalton is not "the most elite private school in NY." That distinction belongs to Horace Mann.
20
@Yankelnevich. Highsmith’s The Talented Mr.Ripley comes to mind.
8
@Yankelnevich Why is it "obvious" to you that Epstein has a "very high IQ"? It certainly isn't to me. Who is/was he? What did he do that proved a "very high" or even high IQ? He's a double-dealing, double-talking con man, but that's very different that actual brains, just as a quick wit is different than actual brains.
10
Grifting, grifting, grifting.....
I would like to believe that all these financial "wizards" and real estate guys are reasonably ethical, but all evidence points otherwise. Seems to be just another form of grifting. Epstein in particular gives new meaning to the phrase "animal spirits".
72
Funny how these people are rich one day (Forbes list, impress investors…) and how the next day they are poor (for tax purposes, or when in front of a judge…). Me too, I'd like to be able to change my wealth status like this, but I guess I don't have the right lawyers and accountants for that.
Funny also how their health changes from one day to the next, when they are facing criminal charges.
I'd like to know how much of his money Mr Epstein has hidden in offshore tax heavens. My guess is: he was not as rich as he pretended to be, but he is not as poor as he wants us to believe now.
Oh, and Deutsche Bank really seems to have a gift finding the best clients for its wealth management division, or maybe they only accepted those no other bank wanted to deal with. Donald Trump and Mr Epstein have a lot in common: sexual predation, dodgy deals, failed investements presented as "successfull ventures", customer at Deutsch Bank...
674
@SJP
I suspect it's a lot harder to find super wealthy clients who are NOT corrupt or sleazy. Deutsche Bank just never cared.
19
@ARNP Well Deutsche Bank is starting to get what it deserves.
9
I was a hedge fund journalist
in New York City
from 2000 to 2012.
He is NOT a hedge fund manager.
I have NEVER heard of Epstein as being a hedge fund manager.
644
@GVB -- Yes, I can see that.
But where did the money come from to own those things and keep the two very expensive large planes in the air? There could be a great story there.
He couldn't really make enough money from underage girls, but if we see that he's willing to break the law on that scale even after caught, then what else is he doing?
170
@Mark Thomason
I am imagining that he had wealthy backers who employed him to run the pedophile and sex trafficking ring, which in the end was probably - unfortunately - a lucrative business.
I bet he was the lower level middle man. - who was well kept.
Just a guess.
117
@Mark Thomason Blackmail? Would explain the sudden and extensive financial relationship with Wexner, which seems to have been Epstein's watershed moment.
117
A purported billionaire.
With a profoundly immoral past, to say the least.
Funded by Deutsche Bank.
Who may actually be worth far less.
Who are we talking about again?
1487
@Paul McGlasson
And when that quote surfaced, "He's a terrific guy" who "likes beautiful women" I kept asking myself your question Mr. McGlasson - "Who was he talking about again?"
121
@Paul McGlasson -- They run in packs.
81
@Paul McGlasson
I think the guy lives in a big white house, although he doesn't own it and may be evicted by January 2021.
Once evicted, he may wind up in "the big house. "
76
A man posing as a billionaire who is somehow able to borrow enough money to own flashy real estate, using Deutsche Bank to prop up his shady deals, surrounding himself with the wealthy and privileged to give himself an air of legitimacy, and praying on women and girls: is Epstein running for president?
1097
@HRD. Preying.
8
@HRD
He is the president !
14
@HRD - Epstein would be a shoo in for the Republican nomination if he, like his pal tRump, was able to refashion himself as an evangelical Christian.
19