Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Edward Epstein (January 20, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. He began his career as a math teacher at the Dalton School in New York City, before entering the banking and finance sector. Over several decades, he made much of his fortune providing tax and estate services to billionaires, and cultivated an elite social circle of prominent individuals. In 2008, he was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution, and was indicted in 2019 for sex trafficking minors in the 2000s. He died in custody awaiting his trial and his death was ruled a suicide.

In 2005, police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein after a woman reported that her 14-year-old stepdaughter had been paid by Epstein to strip and massage him. Investigators identified 36 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 with similar accounts of sexual abuse. Prosecutors had concerns about taking him to trial, citing victim reluctance to testify and witness credibility. This influenced a now-controversial plea deal negotiation, under which Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of procuring a minor for prostitution, and soliciting a prostitute. He was registered as a sex offender, and served 13 months in jail with work release.

Following Epstein's conviction, victims pursued lawsuits and media scrutiny grew. A 2018 Miami Herald article profiled victim stories, and argued that Epstein had evaded justice under a lenient plea deal. This prompted federal investigators in New York to reinvestigate additional charges, and Epstein was indicted in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking minors between 2002 and 2005. Epstein died in his jail cell on August 10; his death was ruled a suicide by hanging. His death is the subject of conspiracy theories. Epstein maintained a long association with socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for sex trafficking girls to him.

At the time of his death, Epstein's estate was valued at $600 million, from which hundreds of millions have been paid to at least 200 women in legal settlements. Additional settlements of $290 million from JP Morgan, and $75 million from Deutsche Bank, followed lawsuits which alleged these banks had enabled Epstein's abuse by retaining him as a client.

Epstein was a friend or acquaintance of many public figures. The Epstein files, a collection of documents which has been partially released as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, provide a public glimpse into the vast network he had cultivated over the late 20th and early 21st centuries.