10 Shocking Facts about Jeffrey Epstein’s life

Epstein was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents. He began his career in New York City, as a math teacher at the Dalton School. He was dismissed after two years for his “poor performance”. But Epstein made friends with Greenberg who offered him a job at the investment bank Bear Stearns. There he started as a junior assistant and worked himself up to become an options trader. Later he became a limited partner in the company only to be asked to leave as he was found guilty of a “reg d violation”.

In the year 1982, Epstein founded his own firm – J. Epstein and Co. He was said to be specifically marketing his services to “those with assets worth more than $1 billion”. One of his clients was billionaire Leslie Wexner, chairman and CEO of L Brands (formerly The Limited, Inc.) and Victoria’s Secret. Epstein operated his company out of the U.S. Virgin Islands for tax reasons. He was able to reduce federal income taxes by 90 percent. The U.S. Virgin Islands acted as an offshore tax haven, while at the same time offering the advantages of being part of the United States banking system.

In the year of 2008, Jeffrey Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor. He was accused of garnering a large, cult-like network of underage girls, the youngest being 14. He used to this with the help of female recruiters. Those recruiters used to lookout for homeless girls who were in need of money and then they were coerced into having sex with Epstein as often as three times a day. And all this was done behind the walls of his waterfront Florida mansion.

Since Epstein was wealthy and had a powerful social circle, he was able to strike a plea deal for his punishment. Though most of the convicted sex offenders in Florida are sent to state prison, Epstein was instead housed in a private wing of the Palm Beach County Stockade. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison but in fact, served only 13. In addition to this, he was also granted work release, which allowed him to commute to an office outside the jail six days a week. He was allowed to come and go outside of specified release hours. Also, as a part of a deal, he was required to register as a sex offender.

Maria Farmer, one of Epstein’s victim, filed a sworn affidavit in federal court in New York. She alleged that she and her 15-year-old sister, Annie, had been sexually assaulted by Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, in separate locations in 1996. Maria accused Epstein of sexually assaulting her at Leslie Wexner’s Ohio mansion where she was hired to work on an art project.

After almost a decade, Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on new sex-trafficking charges. He was charged by federal prosecutors the following Monday. Per the indictment, “over the course of many years, Jeffrey Epstein, the defendant, sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations.”

Epstein’s powerful and elite social circle included politicians, celebrities, royals, socialites and top-notch business figures. He was friends with Donald Trump, who called him “a terrific guy” and “fun to be with”. Besides Trump, there was Bill Clinton, Leslie Wexner, Alan Dershowitz, and Queen Elizabeth II’s son Prince Andrew. But as soon as Epstein got arrested, many of his friends distanced themselves from him stating that they had no idea of him being a sex offender or a molester of underage girls.

Jeffrey Epstein, in total, had a fortune of worth $577 million. He owned six luxurious properties around the world. These were: a multimillion-dollar mansion in Manhattan, two private islands in the US Virgin Islands, a home in Palm Beach, Florida, a ranch in New Mexico and an apartment in Paris, France. It is being said that just two days before his death, Epstein signed a will to put his $577 million worth assets into a trust fund. He did this in order to hide money from the many women who say he sexually abused them when they were teenagers.

Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell on August 10, 2019. He was awaiting trial on new sex trafficking charges in his cell. The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Epstein’s death a suicide by hanging. But, there are still speculations going on over his death as to how could he hang himself in his high-profile cell. Also, Epstein’s brother, Mark, asked a forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, to observe the autopsy and in his view the unusual fractures he saw on Epstein’s neck so far points more to murder than suicide. The FBI is investigating his death given that Epstein could unravel some secrets of the rich and powerful people.

After Epstein’s death, Ghislaine Maxwell, girlfriend and longtime associate of Epstein got arrested on July 2, 2020. She has been accused of being his madam and of being instrumental in setting up a network of victims and other employees who found them. The FBI arrested Maxwell on July 2 on charges related to the grooming of underage girls who would be abused by Epstein. She had been in hiding for nearly a year. The latest news is that Maxwell has requested for bail, citing Covid-19 reasons and has denied Jeffrey Epstein charges.