Jeffrey Epstein - Who's Who
Epstein’s links with prominent men came back to haunt some of them. The claim that a list of celebrities, including Beyoncé and Chrissy Teigen, traveled on Jeffrey Epstein’s “Lolita Express” plane to his Caribbean island was fact-checked (and rated as false) by third parties.
Along with lavish properties, Epstein also liked to collect notable friends. In 2015, the now-defunct site Gawker published what it said was Epstein’s address book. It contained entries for U.S. President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump; actors Alec Baldwin, Dustin Hoffman and Ralph Fiennes; the Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, singers Courtney Love and Jimmy Buffett, and high-profile lawyer Alan Dershowitz among others. He was also known to have traveled on his private jets with former President Bill Clinton and actor Kevin Spacey. None of his high-profile friends have been linked to the crimes for which Epstein was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York.
Neither the U.S. government nor any reputable media outlet had published an official report that the so-called Epstein list had been made publicly available. It's also a misnomer to say that Epstein had "clients" for sex trafficking. Underaged girls and young women were offered to "friends," as well as people of wealth and influence. More often, the underaged girls and young females were abused by Epstein himself.
Former Deutsche Bank executive Thomas Bowers was found dead at his Malibu, California, home on November 19, 2019, but it was ruled a suicide and Bowers was never Epstein's personal banker. A federal judge's son was shot to death days after she was assigned a case involving a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank that had a connection to the deceased Epstein, but investigators say the killing was revenge against the judge for another case. The killer then killed himself.
While Bowers' work as the head of Deutsche Bank's American wealth management division has been part of a federal investigation, it was concerning his approval of loans for President Donald Trump, not relating to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bank acknowledged it was conducting an internal investigation of its dealings with Epstein, but Bowers, who left Deutsche Bank in 2013, was not himself under investigation.
Jean-Luc Brunel was a French modeling agent and former associate of pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Brunel reportedly received financial backing from Epstein when starting his modeling agency MC2 Model Management. Officials reported that Brunel, who was arrested in December 2020 and was being investigated for rape and sex trafficking charges, appeared to have committed suicide by hanging in his prison cell following several other suicide attempts. He was found on February 19, 2022.
In Israel conspiracy theories circulated on social media – including by Likud – of an alleged left-wing interference by the Wexner Foundation [a US foundation] in Israeli politics, which made use of the fact that sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein used to work for it. An outside review released in February 2020, however, concluded that “Jeffrey Epstein played ‘no meaningful role’ in the budget, finances or accounting practices of L Brands founder Les Wexner’s charitable foundation and wasn’t involved at all with its fellowship and leadership programs. … Wexner says he severed ties with Epstein 12 years ago.”
Justice Yitzhak Amit held December 29, 2020 that the petition failed to provide a minimal factual basis to support judicial intervention. He added, ""[t]he petitioner took “Wexner Foundation,” added “Jeffrey Epstein,” sprinkled a fair amount of “convicted pedophile” and a pinch of “Lolita Express plane,” and poured Defendant 3 [Barak] onto all of that – thus creating a dish that brings to the courtroom the aroma of social media. The petition is composed of hints, slander and speculation."
Virginia Roberts Giuffre brought action against defendant Prince Andrew, Duke of York, also known as Andrew Albert Christian Edward, for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In short, she alleged that the Jeffrey Epstein and others trafficked her to Prince Andrew who took advantage of the situation by sexually abusing her when she was under the age of eighteen. Defendant denied Giuffre's allegations and attacked her credibility and motives. As recently as 2010, and therefore after Epstein had done jail time inconnection with the 2006 Florida charges and registered as a sex offender, Prince Andrew was photographed with Epstein and stayed at Epstein's New York City mansion.
U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan ruled in November 2021 that only the portions of Ghislaine Maxwell's address book that had a name with the word "massage" next to them could be submitted into evidence and that the rest of the book would be sealed. The entire 2021 trial in New York City was open to the public and to the press, as was Maxwell's sentencing in 2022.
Then known as Virginia Roberts, Giuffre alleged that Epstein trafficked her and forced her to have sex with his friends, including three encounters with the Duke of York. Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell said she was confident that the photo depicting herself, Prince Andrew and alleged sex-trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre was faked. Prince Andrew also questioned the authenticity of the photo, but was nevertheless stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military titles in 2022 after he agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to charity to settle Giuffre’s civil lawsuit.
In November 2022, Giuffre dropped a separate lawsuit against Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, another Epstein-related person whom she had accused of sexual assault. She said in a statement that she may have erred in identifying Dershowitz as one of the men who assaulted her.
In October 2020, the Conflicts Committee of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (the private equity firm he co-founded) retained Dechert LLP as independent counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into the relationship between Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein, including any financial, business or personal dealings between Black and any Black affiliate, on the one hand, and Epstein and any Epstein affiliate on the other. Dechert saw no evidence suggesting that Black ever compensated Epstein for any service other than Epstein’s legitimate advice on trust and estate planning, tax issues, issues relating to artwork, Black’s airplane, Black’s yacht, and other similar matters, philanthropic issues, and the operation of the Family Office.
Black, a billionaire investor, was introduced to Epstein in the mid-1990’s by a mutual friend. Initially, Black viewed Epstein as someone who was very intelligent and knowledgeable regarding issues relating to estate planning and taxation. Black also was impressed by Epstein’s connections to many prominent figures in business, politics, and science. Epstein spoke knowledgeably about scientific innovation and technology. In 1997, Black appointed Epstein as one of the initial directors of the Black Family Foundation, which was established for the purpose of facilitating contributions by Black and his family to philanthropic endeavors. Black was further impressed when he learned that David Rockefeller had appointed Epstein as a director to the Board of Rockefeller University. This appointment was consistent with Black’s understanding that Epstein was extremely knowledgeable about science and technology, as well as a strong proponent of scientific research and development.
Leon Black stepped down from Apollo Global Management in January 2021 after the outside review found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning. Black denied knowing about any wrongdoing on Epstein’s part — according to the report, he viewed Epstein “as a confirmed bachelor with eclectic tastes” and believed that Epstein “had served his time” for a 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
A Russian former model named Guzel Ganieva publicly alleged that she had been “sexually harassed and abused" by Black for years, a claim that eventually spurred a series of increasingly convoluted legal machinations. Black denied the charge, telling Bloomberg News that he “foolishly had a consensual affair” with Ganieva and that he had “been extorted” by her for years. He did agree to pay her $100,000 every month for 15 years, in addition to forgiving about $1 million in prior loans, and agreeing to provide £2 million to help her obtain lawful immigration status in the United Kingdom for her and her child. Barclays chief executive Jes Staley resigned 01 November 2021 after a dispute with British financial regulators over how he described his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Staley's shock departure came after Barclays was informed of the unpublished findings of a report by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority into Staley's characterization of his relationship with Epstein. The bank said : "It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epstein's alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays' support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019."
The New York Times reported in 2019 that Epstein had referred "dozens" of wealthy clients to Staley. It also reported that Staley visited Epstein in prison when he was serving a sentence between 2008-09 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, while Bloomberg reported he visited Epstein’s private island in 2015. Staley told reporters in February 2021 that his relationship with Epstein had "tapered off significantly" after he left JPMorgan in 2013, and that he had not seen the disgraced financier since taking over Barclays in 2015.
According to a 12 April 2023 court filing, Epstein was a client at JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013 and maintained upwards of 50 accounts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. This not only granted him access to exclusive banking and wealth management services, but apparently earned him the bank’s discretion. The filing alleged that in 2006, two years before Epstein was convicted for soliciting a minor for prostitution, a JPMorgan Rapid Response Team flagged internally that Epstein was making cash withdrawals ranging from $40,000 to $80,000 several times per month. By that year, the bank was reportedly aware that Epstein paid cash to have underage girls and young women trafficked to his home. This apparently became an open secret among senior executives, even devolving into a topic of jest. Still, the bank maintained its relationship with Epstein for several more years, including after his conviction.
Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), on 12 April 2023 wrote a letter to JPMorgan Chase’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, demanding answers following recent reports and court filings describing the bank’s financial involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. In her letter, Smith pressed Dimon for the bank’s policies and procedures around identifying and reporting human trafficking after allegations surfaced that JPMorgan ignored obvious signs of Epstein’s illegal activity and maintained its relationship with him against the advice of its own compliance department. “If true, JPMorgan’s decision to turn a blind eye to such egregious misconduct raises serious questions about its role in facilitating Epstein’s abuse, and its willingness or ability to root out and prevent other, less apparent instances of sex trafficking,” wrote Senator Smith.
Future CIA director William Burns, banker Ariane de Rothschild and an ex-aide to US President Barack Obama are among the noteworthy people who had meetings with financier Jeffrey Epstein after he was publicly registered as a child-sex offender, according to a newly unearthed trove of documents from the late financier. The previously unpublicized documents, including thousands of pages of emails and schedules from 2013 to 2017, reveal that Epstein booked multiple meetings with such prominent figures as US spy chief William Burns and with Kathryn Ruemmler, a former White House counsel who later became a top lawyer at Goldman Sachs Group, the Wall Street Journal reported on 30 April 2023. All of the encounters were arranged after Epstein served jail time in 2008 for procuring a teenage girl for prostitution in Florida. The documents uncovered by the WSJ showed that Epstein also had meetings arranged with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Bard College President Leon Botstein, author Noam Chomsky, movie director Woody Allen and Joshua Cooper Ramo, then co-CEO of Henry Kissinger’s consulting firm.
Jeffrey Epsten discovered that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had an affair with a Russian bridge player and paid for the woman’s education before asking for reimbursement from Gates in exchange for his silence, the Wall Street Journal reported on 20 May 2023. Gates met Mila Antonova around 2010, when he was in his mid-50s and she was in her 20s. Epstein met her three years later and paid for her to attend a software coding school, before emailing Gates in 2017 and asking for the cost of her tuition, the newspaper claimed, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
At the time of the email, Epstein had been trying unsuccessfully to convince Gates to invest in “a multibillion dollar charitable fund” with JPMorgan Chase, the paper continued, explaining that “the implication behind the message…was that Epstein could reveal the affair if Gates didn’t keep up an association between the two men.” A spokeswoman for Gates confirmed the exchange, stating that “Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates.”
Gates’ relationship with Epstein would eventually be the undoing of his 27-year marriage to Melinda French Gates. A year after divorcing the software magnate, French Gates told CBS News in 2022 that her ex-husband’s relationship with Epstein was “one of many things” that led to the split.
Epstein and Gates first met in 2011, after Epstein had already been convicted for soliciting a child for prostitution. The pair met “many times,” according to a 2019 New York Times report, with Gates telling colleagues that he found Epstein’s lifestyle “very different and kind of intriguing, although it would not work for me.” Gates now describes his relationship with Epstein as “a mistake,” and told CBS News that he should have taken his ex-wife’s advice and cut ties with the child molester “sooner than I did.”
The Russian cards player who allegedly had an affair with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had links to Anna Chapman, a Kremlin spy who was arrested on espionage charges in the United States in 2010, according to a report by UK newspaper the Daily Mail on 26 May 2023. Chapman pleaded guilty to US charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent in 2010 and was deported to Russian that same year as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Washington and Moscow, along with nine other Russian nationals who had also been accused by US authorities of espionage.
Mila Antonova – a bridge player who multiple media reports this week claim had an affair with Gates starting in 2009 – was captured in a newly unearthed photograph walking alongside Chapman in New York City. The picture, which was believed to have been taken in 2009 or 2010, around the same time as Gates’ alleged trysts with the decades-younger Antonova, the newspaper claimed. The report adds that Antonova was an “associate and financial beneficiary of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.” Details as to the relationship between Antonova and Chapman, the daughter of a former KGB officer and who was deported from the US, remained unknown.
Reporting which suggested that Epstein had made threats to expose Gates’ alleged affair with Antonova, which was said to have occurred soon after the pair met at a bridge tournament in Washington, DC in 2009. In 2017, years after Gates and Antonova had ended their alleged affair, Epstein emailed Gates asking to be reimbursed for school fees that Epstein had paid for Antonova to attend a computer programming course, the Wall Street Journal reported citing documents the publication viewed. The WSJ added that “the tone of the message was that Epstein knew about the affair and could expose it,” and that it came after Gates refused an Epstein request to join a financial venture he was involved in.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk was subpoenaed 16 May 2023 for documents by prosecutors in the US Virgin Islands, who are seeking information for a lawsuit linked to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his work with a major American bank. Filed in a US district court in New York, the subpoena ordered Musk to turn over all communications he may have had with Epstein or JPMorgan, documents showing any fees he may have paid to the US banking giant, as well as all material “regarding Epstein’s involvement in human trafficking and/or his procurement of girls or women for commercial sex” dating back to 2002.
Authorities in the Virgin Islands, a US territory, said that Musk was a “high-net-worth individual who Epstein may have referred or attempted to refer to JPMorgan,” though they have not claimed any wrongdoing by the Tesla CEO. The bank has been accused of having “firsthand knowledge that Epstein conducted a sex-trafficking venture” – namely by way of its former head of asset management, Jes Staley – and knowingly benefitted from Epstein’s crimes.
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