This Is How Jeffrey Epstein Got So Rich | Forbes - video Dailymotion

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Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was worth nearly $600 million at his death, thanks mostly to two wealthy billionaire clients—plus generous tax breaks; a new Forbes report explains where the money got made.  READ MORE: https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2025/07/25/how-jeffrey-epstein-got-so-rich/

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00:00Today on Forbes, How Jeffrey Epstein Got So Rich

00:04At the time of his death in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was a fabulously wealthy man.

00:11Between his collection of lavish homes, two private Caribbean islands, and nearly $380

00:16million in cash and investments, he was worth $578 million, according to his estate.

00:24Exactly how he accrued those riches is at the heart of the ongoing scandal.

00:28The less interesting possibility is that Epstein's sex crimes were separate from his day job

00:34as a financial advisor to billionaires, to whom he offered investment, estate, and tax

00:38planning services.

00:40In a 2013 corporate filing, Epstein described himself as, quote, an experienced and successful

00:45financier and businessman, a, quote, entrepreneur who has built several highly profitable companies,

00:52and, quote, one of the pioneers of derivative and option-based investing.

00:56The more scandalous scenario, as alleged by many of President Trump's supporters and conspiracy

01:02theorists, is that Epstein secretly taped his wealthy friends engaging in sex crimes with

01:07trafficked minors in his homes and on his islands and then blackmailed them, with his financial

01:13business serving as cover.

01:14The full origins of Epstein's wealth remain shrouded in mystery, but what is clear, according

01:20to Forbes' review of court filings, an investigative memo, and financial records, is that Epstein

01:26relied above all on two billionaire clients and a tax gimmick to build his fortune.

01:31Victoria's Secret's longtime chief, Les Wexner, and private equity honcho, Leon Black, were

01:38Epstein's two largest financial clients.

01:42Of the more than $800 million in revenue Epstein's two key businesses brought in from 1999 to 2018,

01:49Epstein collected at least $490 million in fees, with the rest coming from gains on investments.

01:55Wexner and Black supplied upwards of 75% of Epstein's fee income throughout that period,

02:01according to Forbes' estimates.

02:03Those entities, both based in the U.S. Virgin Islands, were Epstein's only, quote,

02:08revenue-generating companies from 1999 until his death.

02:12This, according to an expert report provided by an accountant in a 2022 case filed by the U.S.

02:18Virgin Islands government against JPMorgan Chase.

02:21While President Trump and Epstein were friends for many years, there is no evidence that they

02:26ever did any business together.

02:28They reportedly fell out after competing to buy the same Palm Beach estate in 2004.

02:34In that competition, Trump won.

02:37Wexner, who is 87 years old and the founder of apparel giant Limited, was Epstein's primary

02:42client from 1991 until 2007 before the two men fell out.

02:47Wexner paid Epstein an estimated $200 million over the years.

02:53Black, who is 73 years old and the founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management,

02:58paid Epstein $170 million between 2012 and 2017.

03:03This, according to an independent investigation from law firm Deckert LLP into Black's relationship

03:09with Epstein and further research from the Senate Finance Committee.

03:12Epstein was able to accumulate his wealth nearly tax-free thanks to generous tax breaks in the

03:19U.S. Virgin Islands, where he became a resident in 1996 and set up a financial consulting firm

03:24named Financial Trust Company two years later.

03:27The same year, he spent nearly $8 million to buy Little St. James Island, which has since

03:32become known as Pedophile Island for its role in his sex trafficking ring.

03:37Court filings show that between that firm and Southern Trust Company, which he set up in 2011

03:41and which took over as his main business the following year, Epstein obtained benefits under

03:47the territory's economic development program that saved him $300 million in taxes between

03:521999 and 2018.

03:55Throughout that time, Epstein earned at least $360 million in dividends from his companies.

04:01Wexner and Black have both apologized for their associations with Epstein and said they were

04:06not aware of his sex crimes. Wexner stepped down as CEO of L Brands in 2020 and said in a letter

04:12published that year that he, quote, would not have continued to work with any individual capable of

04:18such egregious, sickening behavior had he known. Black said in an earnings call in 2020 that he,

04:24quote, deeply regretted his association with Epstein. The Deckert report found, quote,

04:30no evidence that Black was involved in any way with Epstein's criminal activities.

04:35In 2021, Black stepped down as Apollo CEO and from his position as chairman of the Museum of Modern Art.

04:42The two men were not Epstein's only clients. The full extent of Epstein's wealth and client list

04:49is still unknown, though further details may be public soon enough. On July 17th, Senator Ron Wyden

04:56revealed that investigators from the Senate Finance Committee had reviewed some of the

05:00Treasury Department's files on Epstein last year. They found that there were more than 4,700

05:05transactions with Epstein's accounts at four banks, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Bank of New York

05:12Mellon, and Bank of America, totaling more than $1.9 billion. For full coverage, check out

05:21Giacomo Tagnini and John Hyatt's piece on Forbes.com.

05:26This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

This Is How Jeffrey Epstein Got So Rich | Forbes

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