How Jeffrey Epstein made his money and the big mystery at the centre of it all

The question of Epstein’s wealth involves an odd relationship with the boss of Victoria’s Secret (Picture: Getty; AP)

At a bail hearing in July 2019, the legal team for ex-financier Jeffrey Epstein declared their client had more than $550 million in assets.

The 66-year-old was facing a series of serious sex trafficking charges in a case that gripped the world’s attention due to the potential ramifications for some very high-profile public figures.

Among several important questions about his behaviour, his friends and his fate was one that was central to Epstein’s bizarre life: where did all that money come from?

Contrary to what some might think, we do know the answer. But one monumental mystery in the story of his fortune remains unsolved to this day.

By most accounts, Epstein was happy to tell his origin story to people with whom he was doing business. He was born to a middle-class family in Coney Island, New York City, in January 1953.

After dropping out of college, he found a job teaching maths at the city’s Dalton School. His passion for the subject is said to have caught the attention of Alan ‘Ace’ Greenberg, the father of one of his students and the CEO of investment bank Bear Stearns, who told him he was wasted in teaching and should be working on Wall Street.

In 1976, Epstein started at Bear Stearns. He rose through the ranks rapidly – with his mathematical skill reportedly serving him well – and within four years he was a limited partner.

But the following year, he was fired. Early magazine profiles suggest he was just keen to start his own venture, but an investigation by the Wall Street Journal found he’d been sacked after being accused of allocating shares to someone people believed to be his girlfriend among other infractions.

Jeffrey Epstein developed close relationships with major Wall Street companies (Picture: AP)

Epstein did soon end up starting his own wealth management business, though: J. Epstein and Co. (later renamed Financial Trust Co.), which began trading in 1982.

This is where the mystery comes in. Almost immediately, this relatively mid-level financier was successfully running his own company with an extraordinarily audacious central tenet – it would not accept a client worth less than $1 billion.

According to a 2002 story in New York Magazine, Epstein began collecting clients straight away. One in particularly, who came his way in the mid-to-late eighties, would change his life.

Les Wexner is the business giant behind L Brands, which once ran retailers including Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch. He took on Epstein as a wealth manager when his own fortune was rocketing up.

In the following years, the relationship between the pair grew unusually close. Far from just advising on investments, Epstein gained power of attorney, giving him absolute control over Wexner’s wealth – and even leading him to write his client’s prenuptial agreement ahead of his wedding.

The Wall Street Journal found that Epstein made around $200 million from his work for Wexner over a period of around 20 years.

Les Wexner has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s illegal activity (Picture: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Fragrance Foundation)

In the 1990s and 2000s, he reportedly made millions more by inserting himself into various major deals for some of the world’s wealthiest people and biggest financial institutions.

It all started to disintegrate around 2007, when he reached a deal with federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution, ultimately serving 13 months in a work-release program.

Wexner cut him off, as did the bank JP Morgan with which he had been heavily involved for several years.

Nevertheless, he was still doing well enough 12 years later that his lawyers could declare more than half a billion dollars in assets, including four homes and two islands.

The month after they made that disclosure, Epstein was dead – and the questions about his life would only get more intense.

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We know where Jeffrey Epstein made most of his money – but significant questions remain unanswered.