Jeffrey Epstein Net Worth

What was Jeffrey Epstein's Net Worth?

Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier, sexual predator, and convicted criminal who had a net worth of $500 million at the time of his death in August 2019. As we detail in the next paragraph, Epstein's personal fortune was very difficult to peg. It could have been as much as $1 billion, and he was often described as a "disgraced billionaire". After his death, a Justice Department auditor confirmed that his net worth was at least $500 million. Probate filings eventually valued his estate at roughly $577 million, most of which has since been directed toward settlements for his numerous victims.

He began his career teaching math at the Dalton School in New York before moving into finance at Bear Stearns in the 1970s, where he worked as an options trader and rose to become a limited partner. By the early 1980s, he launched his own financial consulting firm, J. Epstein & Co., which he claimed managed the fortunes of billionaires. Despite these claims, little public record exists of the firm's operations, clients, or performance.

Epstein's fortune and access were most clearly tied to his relationship with Leslie Wexner, the billionaire founder of L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret. Wexner gave Epstein sweeping powers of attorney over his finances and transferred to him one of New York City's largest private mansions. This relationship cemented Epstein's status in elite circles, allowing him to cultivate friendships with powerful figures in politics, business, academia, and entertainment. His properties in Manhattan, Palm Beach, Paris, New Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands became venues for high-society gatherings, but also centers of abuse.

In 2008, Epstein was convicted in Florida for procuring a minor for prostitution and served 13 months in a controversial work-release deal that was widely criticized as a sweetheart arrangement. He resumed his high-profile lifestyle afterward until his 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. His death in a Manhattan jail cell that year was ruled a suicide, though it sparked widespread suspicion and conspiracy theories, given the gravity of the case and the powerful people connected to him.

Wealth Details

Epstein's personal fortune was at least $500 million. His net worth could have been as high as $1 billion, depending on the value of his real estate portfolio and bank accounts. On August 8, 2019, two days before he committed suicide, Jeffrey signed a will that laid out a net worth that totaled AT LEAST $577 million. The will listed his "next of kin" brother Mark Epstein as his heir. His listed assets included $56 million in cash, $113 million in equities, $14 million in bonds, $195 million invested with hedge funds, and six properties worth a combined $178 million. When he totaled everything up, Jeffrey Epstein estimated his net worth to be $577,672,654. That number could actually be higher because it does not include assets put into trust, which are not made public. The will set aside $500,000 to pay his two lawyers $250,000 a piece for handling the estate.

Early Life

Jeffrey Epstein was born on January 20, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Lafayette High School and took classes at Cooper Union from 1969 to 1971 and then at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, leaving without a degree. From 1973 to 1975, he taught calculus and physics at the Dalton School before becoming an options trader at Bear Stearns. In 1980, Epstein became a partner at Bear Stearns.

via New York Sex Offenders Registry

Success

In 1982, Epstein founded his own financial management firm, J. Epstein & Co.. The goal of the firm was to manage the assets of clients who have more than a billion dollars in net worth. In 1987, Leslie Wexner, founder and chairman of Ohio-based The Limited chain of clothing stores, became a well-known client, and the only client who was not anonymous. Jeffrey was also rumored to have managed money for David Rockefeller. In 1996, Epstein changed the name of his firm to The Financial Trust Company. For tax purposes, he based the company on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Unlike most hedge funds that simply invest client money, The Financial Trust Company aimed to plan every financial aspect of its clients' lives, from philanthropy to tax planning.

Epstein's demands when managing a client's money were far steeper than other hedge funds. He would require that clients give him full control over the money invested, with a minimum of $1 billion. Investors have no options on how the money is invested. He would charge a flat fee for managing the money instead of taking a percentage of the gains. He reportedly earned $100 million per year at the peak of his power. He also had the power of attorney to do whatever he thought was necessary to help the client's finances. Amazingly, Epstein would decline clients with less than $1 billion. Even if someone came to him with $500 million ready to invest, he reportedly turned them away. His firm reportedly managed more than $15 billion at one time.

Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000 (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)

Homes And Assets

Epstein has been extremely successful managing money, and at the time of his death had a MINIMUM net worth of $500 million. His net worth very likely topped $1 billion, depending partially on the value of his real estate assets.

Jeffrey owned lavish properties around the world, including a $12 million villa in Palm Beach, Florida, a 78-acre private island in the Caribbean called Little St. James Island, an apartment in Paris, France, and a 10,000-acre ranch in Stanley, New Mexico, south of Santa Fe. The New Mexico house has a 26,700-square-foot hilltop mansion. The Caribbean home at one point employed a full-time staff of 70.

His New York mansion has been described as the largest private residence in Manhattan. It is a 50,000 square-foot, nine-story mansion that has 10 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms. The mansion is located in Lenox Hill, and was previously a private hospital and then a private school called the Birch Wathen School. Epstein bought the house in 1989 for $13.2 million with the former CEO of The Limited, Leslie Wexner. In 2011, Wexner transferred the deed 100% to Epstein.

In July 2020, several months after his death, the property was listed for sale for $88 million. In March 2021, the home sold for $51 million. The buyer was financier Michael D. Daffey and his wife, Blake. Here's a photo of the building's exterior:

Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images

Jeffrey Epstein previously owned a Boeing 727 private jet that the media nicknamed "the Lolita Express" due to his alleged interactions with underage girls. At the beginning of 2019, he owned TWO Gulfstream private jets. He sold one of them in July 2019. In 2019, Federal authorities looking to seize his assets would note that Epstein owns at least 15 vehicles, including seven Chevy Suburbans.

In 2003, he attempted to buy New York magazine but ultimately lost out to Bruce Wasserstein, who paid $55 million. In 2004, Epstein and New York Daily News publisher Mortimer Zuckerman spent $25 million to launch celebrity news website Radar.com.

Jeffrey Epstein had been known to be friendly with Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Flight logs would later show that Bill Clinton reportedly flew on Epstein's private jet at least 26 times.

Arrest on Prostitution Charges

In March 2004, a woman came forward to the Palm Beach Police Department, accusing the financier of paying her $300 to strip for him when she was 14 years old. After an 11-month investigation into Epstein, police accused Epstein of paying several escorts to perform sexual acts on him. Several of the alleged victims were under the age of 18 when the acts occurred. According to the International Business Times, he also allegedly loaned girls to powerful friends. It has been alleged that Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was one of the powerful friends.

In 2008, he served 13 months in jail of an 18-month sentence as a convicted sex offender in the state of Florida for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested after his private jet landed in New Jersey on its way back from Paris. Court documents alleged that Epstein brought 40 underage girls to his mansions for sexual encounters. Further court documents released as part of his bail proceedings alleged that a financial analysis proved that Epstein had a net worth of at least $500 million.

Death

On August 10, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein allegedly committed suicide in his jail cell. He had attempted suicide several weeks earlier. He was 66 years old. There has been much speculation over whether or not Epstein actually committed suicide or was "suicided" by nefarious parties.

Who's Richer?

Jeffrey
Epstein

Compare!

Ghislaine
Maxwell