A cloud of mystery has long surrounded Jeffrey Epstein’s finances, which have come under renewed scrutiny this week in the wake of his indictment on sex trafficking charges — but he’s taking steps to make sure the mystery stays alive.
Attorneys for the multimillionaire — who likes to pass himself off as a billionaire — submitted a bail application on Thursday in which they offer up his $77 million Upper East Side townhouse and his private jet as collateral and, in a separate filing, Reid Weingarten, the lead attorney in Epstein’s defense, has asked a judge if Epstein’s records could be filed under seal.
“Here, in the event Mr. Epstein is required to publicly file his financial statement, the information contained therein will inevitably be widely disseminated in the news media, contravening the statutory requirement of confidentiality,” Weingarten wrote.
Epstein, who is currently resting his head in the Manhattan Detention Center, is due back in court on Monday for a bail hearing.
Epstein, 66, who is charged with running a sex trafficking ring involving minor girls as young as 14, is a financier who reportedly made a fortune as a trader for Bear Stearns and who owns five properties in the United States, the US Virgin Islands and Paris.
In their two-count indictment against Epstein, unsealed earlier this week following Epstein’s arrest on his private plane at a New Jersey airport after it returned from Paris, federal prosecutors spoke of Epstein’s “vast wealth” and have filed to seize the Manhattan townhouse through forfeiture.
But the full breadth of Epstein’s fortune — and how exactly he got so rich — has remained murky.
Epstein has often been called a “billionaire” in media reports, but in 2010 — two years after he received an 18-month prison sentence in Florida for soliciting a minor for sex — Forbes published a blog post with the headline “Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein is Not A Billionaire,” explaining that he’s never cracked the Forbes 400 and that his Virgin Islands-based money management firm produces no public records.
Prior to his guilty plea in Florida — part of a sweetheart deal brokered with then-US Attorney Alex Acosta — one of Epstein’s major clients was billionaire Leslie Wexner, CEO of L Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.
Wexner helped Epstein obtain his 21,000-square-foot Manhattan residence and named Epstein as trustee to his foundation, but he apparently severed ties around the time he was first charged with having sexual activity with minors.
“It’s like looking at the Wizard of Oz – there may be less there than meets the eye,” a prominent investor told New York magazine for a 2002 article, describing Epstein’s finances.