Jeffrey Epstein had accumulated a fortune worth almost half a billion dollars before his death, as revealed by the Epstein files.
In just one month, the financier earned more than $12.6 million (£9.2 million), mainly through buying and selling shares.
The files, released by the US Justice Department, provide a breakdown of his assets in August 2018. They include antiques, jewelry, and art worth almost $10 million, such as a 32.73-carat cut diamond valued at $5.4 million, and an additional $22.5 million worth of boats, planes, and cars, which include three private jets and a helicopter. The planes were used to traffic young women and girls.
Epstein died in jail while awaiting trial for child sex offenses in August 2019, a year later.
The summary of assets offers insight into his vast wealth and partially explains the power and control he wielded through his fortune.
Sarah Ferguson shares poem for Queen, saying her 'dearest friend' is now 'free'
The list of assets does not include properties such as his private island in the US Virgin Islands and homes in Florida and New York, among others, where he abused countless young women and minors.
Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend who is serving a jail sentence for procuring girls for him, had a net wealth held by JP Morgan investment bank of $8.2 million, in documents dating back to the first quarter of 2012. The state of Maxwell’s current fortune is unclear. She has spent millions of dollars on legal fees contesting her trial and subsequent conviction.
The snapshot of Epstein’s assets shows he was worth $476 million by the end of August 2018. Over the course of that month, the value of his assets increased by $12.6 million from just under $464 million. That increase included more than $10 million in equity gains.
His other assets included more than $101 million kept in cash and another $100 million of assets held in hedge funds.
The statement of assets showed more than $16 million owed to him in loans.
That includes an outstanding loan to Johnny O’Sullivan of $22,446. Mr. O’Sullivan was Sarah Ferguson’s former assistant who was owed money in unpaid wages by Ms. Ferguson. Epstein stepped in to settle her debts in 2012.
The statement of assets also shows that Epstein sold almost $5 million worth of Royal Bank of Scotland shares that month, while spending more than a quarter of a million dollars on paving. His monthly spending totaled more than $1.25 million.
Epstein had a large portfolio of investments, including shares in RBS, the owner of NatWest, bonds issued by Lloyds, and a stake in the cryptocurrency company Coinbase.
Sarah Ferguson's tribute to 'Sissy' Lisa Marie Presley and vow to support family
The document dated from long after Labour’s time in power, when Lord Mandelson, then business secretary, apparently leaked market-sensitive information to Epstein from inside the government.
Much of Epstein’s cash – about $41.6 million – was held in Haze Trust, an account he controlled. The trust was named in a lawsuit brought by the US Virgin Islands authorities, who were demanding documents from executors of the Epstein estate. A further $16 million was held in Southern Financial LLC and Southern Trust Company Inc. Southern Trust has been identified as his “main money-making company” which received lucrative tax breaks from the US Virgin Islands territory.
It has been reported that Leon Black, a billionaire art collector and one of Epstein’s clients, bought and sold art using money wired through the Southern Trust.
A second valuation report on his assets – dated August 31, 2014 – shows his wealth had increased by $72 million in the four years leading up to the most recent report contained in the Epstein files. In 2014, his assets were valued at $404 million.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
