Jeffrey Epstein’s most lucrative currency was people – six years after his death, he continues to haunt those who knew him

Framed photos with presidents, princes and even the pope adorned the many homes of Jeffrey Epstein.

This article contains images and language that some readers may find disturbing.

The disgraced New York financier’s most lucrative currency was people. He made a career out of connections with world leaders in politics, business titans and science’s most lauded brains.

The man formerly known as Prince Andrew, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, described Epstein‘s appeal in his infamous TV interview: “He had the most extraordinary ability to bring extraordinary people together and that’s the bit that I remember, going to the dinner parties where you would meet academics, politicians, people from the United Nations. It was a cosmopolitan group of what I would describe as US eminence.”

His network was not just US-based but the global elite – among them hedge fund owners, bankers and hoteliers.

But as more and more new documents and photos are made public, we can build up an intimate portrait of a man who kept so much private.

Another man once called a prince, but of darkness this time, Peter Mandelson, described his “best pal” as a “prolific networker”. Epstein’s friends crossed political parties – Republican and Democratic – and continents.

Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion was just a seven-minute drive from Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago. In 2002, Mr Trump told New York Magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

They are said to have fallen out while competing to purchase a mansion in 2004.

The release of thousands of Epstein’s personal emails shows he had had plenty of world leaders in his inbox.

The former prime minister of Norway and former president of the Maldives sought his advice on politics and finance respectively.

An enigma

Epstein’s emails are short, often abrupt and riddled with spelling mistakes. The impression he wanted to give: he was a busy man, an enigma. You were lucky to be getting a reply.

He cared about appearances – his own and of the women he abused. He dated many models, including a former Miss Sweden. He followed a strict diet to keep lean and insisted the women in his life did the same.

His now notorious 50th birthday book is packed full of candid snaps, some featured here, that flaunt his lavish lifestyle. It is also brazen in its relishing of Epstein’s proclivity for young women. Images of scantily clad women are included in photos and doodles.

The anecdotes from his wealthy, powerful friends are often smutty or innuendo-led. “It’s no secret that Jeffrey appreciates beautiful women. But not many people know that he can create them out of thin air,” reads one.

Massages were entry route to abuse

Epstein’s black book of contacts had lengthy lists of women lined up for “massages” in Florida, California, New Mexico, New York, London, Paris and his island.

At least 152 women are named in it with phone numbers – they were available on speed dial.

The premise of a massage was often his entry route to abuse. The massages were scheduled, part of his daily routine. Whether on a private jet or his private island, he acted with impunity for far too long.

Epstein did not show remorse for his crimes

Multiple women went to the police to report his actions over the years. But the only jail time he was ever sentenced to was in 2008 after a controversial deal where he pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, but only served 13 and negotiated the ability to leave the jail six days a week for up to 12 hours a day for work.

Despite becoming a registered sex offender in 2008, he was far from a social pariah. Nor did he show remorse for his crimes.

Even a decade after his conviction, he was still mocking sexual abuse. He wrote in a message to a friend in 2018, “so many guys caught in the me too, reaching out to me. Asking when does the madness stop. Funny,” and then that “breast cancer was easier to cure than the me too movement”.

‘Epstein claimed if girls had started menstruating they were of age to have sex’

Virginia Giuffre revealed in her memoir that Epstein would say that criminalising sex with teenage girls was a cultural aberration. He would point to different US states having different ages of consent – in Florida it was 18. He claimed if girls had started menstruating they were biologically of age to have sex.

Documents released by the House Oversight Committee reveal he paid to “clean up” what came up about him on Google after his conviction. On 11 December 2010 he bemoaned that despite forking out thousands, “the google page is not good” in an email.

‘An extraordinary volume’ of naked photos of young girls

On 6 July 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal charges related to sex trafficking after his private jet flew into the US from Paris.

“An extraordinary volume” of naked photos of young girls were found in his New York town house. Authorities also found a safe containing 48 loose diamonds, $70,000 (£52,000) in cash and three passports belonging to the sex offender. The expired Austrian passport had a photo of Epstein, but a different name and an address in Saudi Arabia.

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On 10 August 2019, Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell while awaiting trial. Forty-eight hours before he died he signed a will which put his assets in a trust, the beneficiaries of which remain private.

Epstein’s most vocal victim, Ms Giuffre, who took her own life this year, closes her memoir Nobody’s Girl saying: “Epstein is dead but the attitude that allowed him to do what he did, it’s alive and well.”

Six years after his death, Epstein continues to haunt those who knew him. Some may be scared – for their reputation, careers and for what more could still come out.

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