I’ve avoided talking about the Epstein files on this blog. The main reason is that it’s appalling how wealth, power and connections can get away with anything they want. The worst part of it, for me, was a report that Donald Trump watched a 13-year-old girl give birth to a baby girl who was then murdered.
The victim “said that the girl's body was dumped into Lake Michigan from [a] yacht, naming President Donald Trump as a witness to the incident and claiming he was present during the incident”.
It’s all disgusting.
The thing that is less reported is complex web of relationships behind this power and wealth circle. After all, it’s not just about sex. It’s about money.
We know that Epstein was close to Jes Staley when he was at JPMorgan, before becoming CEO of Barclays; we know that Deutsche Bank happily bankrolled Epstein’s empire for years; we know that the then Prince Andrew helped Epstein gain access to the hallowed halls of fame; and I know personally that the connections between the Prince and Epstein gave access to many ultra-high net worth people.
Andrew facing claim he shared Treasury document with banking contact
To be clear, I’m not one of them.
The thing that is clear from all of the files, revelations and discussions is that money breeds money. It’s a network effect. The more wealthy connections you have, the more power you have; the more power you have, the more wealth you generate.
I’m guessing that Jeffrey Epstein felt untouchable with all of his wealth and connections, so the real question then is: what brought him down? More importantly, his collapse created a whole chasm of collapse for everyone who knew him from Prince Andrew to Jes Staley.
It intrigued me to think about the fact that we all know the name Jeffrey Epstein, but what do you really know about this man?
Jeffrey Edward Epstein was born in 1953 and began his professional career as a teacher. He was dismissed from the school in 1976 – I wonder why? – and entered the banking and finance sector, working at Bear Stearns in various roles, before starting his own firm.
Epstein made much of his fortune by providing tax and estate services to billionaires and cultivated an elite social circle.
His downfall started in 2005 when police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating him for abusing a 14-year-old girl, after a parent reported that he had sexually abused her. This led to federal officials finding 36 girls who Epstein had allegedly sexually abused, and he was convicted in 2008 and again in 2019,
The thing is that, for those who can be bothered to analyse the millions of documents, videos and photographs that are on the record of this case, is that Epstein wasn’t a person that anyone in power saw as evil. He was a power broker. A man who came from banking and connected Princes and leaders. A man with huge wealth. A man seen as key to a huge network of money and power.
As I regularly comment, sex and money and are the two key things that drive our world and Epstein represents all the things that are wrong with that. Thank god he’s gone … or has he?
Postscript #1:
In light of the recent release of information from the Epstein files and the continued lack of meaningful accountability, I am part of a large network of concerned women - representatives of climate, biodiversity, equity, and social justice with a large global network.
We galvanised the signatures for the open letter for SHE Changes Climate at COP26 for a successful campaign for women to be included in the High Level Team. We gained 3/12.
Since then we have become a large network of women (and "gaia men" supporting other women for social justice, equity and environment. But above all, we are all gathering to highlight the patriarchal system that supresses women’s voices and perspectives from being heard and thus avoiding vanilla one-dimensional solutions that affect the rainbow of biodiversity and diversity.
Our anger at the continued injustice and inaction by this cabal against (mainly female) victims has compelled us to draft an open letter calling on the US government and its institutions to take concrete and immediate action.
We are already gathering high-profile signatures and hope to publish an op-ed by leading voices in a globally read publication - specifically to ensure this issue reaches audiences - especially men in positions of power - who can drive systemic change.
If you are dismayed, distraught or your blood is boiling by what you are learning - let's galvanise together to take action. Please feel free to sign the letter and share
We need as many signatures by Wednesday February 18 "
https://forms.gle/6GzV6tNGiMy1RaRK9
Postscript #2: How Epstein made his money (edited from Sky News)
New York-born Epstein was considered a maths genius but never graduated, despite attending university.
He left education to teach teenage boys and girls, without qualifications, at a private school that was attended by children of many of New York's elite.
After being fired for lacking teaching skills, Epstein was given a job at the investment banking giant Bear Stearns by its soon-to-be chief executive Alan Greenberg, who had children at the school.
It marked his first big break - one that would underpin his financial status for years to come.
Epstein worked his way up over five years but left Bear Stearns in 1981 over a trading violation.
He started his own firm which specialised in recovering money for individuals and was also hired as a consultant in 1987 at the then Towers Financial Corporation. He left in 1989, shortly before it was exposed as a Ponzi scheme. He earned $25,000 per month for his role at Towers and was never charged over the $450 million fraud.
J Epstein & Company, founded in 1988, was where the big bucks started to appear. He also started, in 2011, Southern Trust Company which latterly became his main source of income and a review by Forbes showed that two individuals accounted for the bulk of the fees that Epstein's vehicles attracted.
First, J Epstein & Co managed the financial affairs of the US billionaire Les Wexner - the long-time boss of Victoria's Secret. He was found to have paid Epstein $200 million until they parted ways in 2007. Second Leon Black, the co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, is believed to have handed over $170 million to the entities from 2012 to 2017.
In all, Forbes said, Epstein took at least $360 million in dividends from his companies between 1999 and 2018 and saved himself $300 million in tax due to the US Virgin Islands jurisdiction.
Postscript #3: How Epstein made his money TL:DR
If you want more on this, here's a detailed background courtesy of Joshua Hale on Facebook:
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...