Unraveling The Enigma Of Jeffrey Epstein: A Financial Mystery

The odd facts of Jeffrey Epstein's life and career just keep coming. Most recently, the New York Times revealed that the late sexual predator and financier made more than $200 million after he changed careers from financial services to DNA research. What’s more, he did all of this after the 2008 financial crisis, losing his biggest client Les Wexner, and registering as a sex offender. Did he have the Midas touch?

Before the global financial crisis, Epstein worked for Financial Trust, his own company. His investment expenses varied significantly, from $1.3 million in 2000 to $16 million in 2004, and reaching $42 million in 2005. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Epstein lost more than $150 million. By 2012, he had pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution, and after being labeled a sex offender, he founded Southern Trust. This startup reportedly developed a DNA data-mining service, and over the next five years, he generated more than $200 million in revenues. However, the details regarding the investors in the company remain undisclosed.

Much like other areas of Epstein's life, his finances are shrouded in mystery. Two days before his death by apparent suicide in jail, he signed a new will that placed his money into a trust listing two longtime associates—Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn—as executors. It is speculated that Epstein created this new will to shield his fortune from lawsuits.

The question remains, however, as to why anyone would invest millions in Epstein when he was switching from financial services to DNA research. One theory suggests that by changing the focus of his business, he could avoid registering with federal securities regulators, as required under the Dodd-Frank Act. In 2012, Epstein asked the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority to note that Financial Trust no longer managed money, subsequently changing the name on his office's door to Southern Trust. He noted that it would have a "financial arm."

Epstein opened up shop in the Virgin Islands in 1998, calling himself a "financial doctor" and seeking tax incentives that allowed him to pay as little as 10% in corporate income tax. At the time, he boasted about managing money for billionaire Les Wexner. However, Wexner cut ties with Epstein in 2007 after discovering that Epstein had mismanaged or misappropriated millions of dollars of his funds. This is reflected in an examination of Financial Trust's income from fees, where in 2006, it reported $66 million, drastically dropping to $4 million in 2007—the year Wexner severed ties. By 2008, it was down to $100,000, and over the subsequent three years, Financial Trust maintained $100,000 in income each year, with a shocking $0 reported in 2012, the year Epstein founded Southern Trust. In 2013, the first full year of business, Southern Trust reported $51 million in income.

Despite these substantial figures, no one truly knows where that money came from. With Jeffrey Epstein now deceased and the executors of his estate remaining silent, the mystery of just how Epstein managed to amass such wealth may never be solved.