How exactly did Jeffrey Epstein make his money?

He dressed and acted the part, but how wealthy the financier and convicted sex offender really was is clouded in mystery, writes Chris Blackhurst

(Court documents)

The New York attorney wanted to ask me something. We were at a fraud conference in Cambridge. He was a regular at the event, as was I. He’d flown over to speak and to catch up with old friends.

Over coffee, he said: “You’ve been following the Jeffrey Epstein case, right?” I said: “Of course, hasn’t everyone?” Then he said, “Let me ask you this: how did he make his money?” I shrugged and replied that it was from managing the finances of the super-rich. He pulled a mocking face and shook his head. “Nah, if he did, we can’t find any trace. There’s no evidence of him earning enough to fund his lifestyle and if he did manage other people’s cash there’s no sign of it. Where did he invest it? What did he do with it? We don’t know.”

This is one of the odder, but telling, aspects of the Epstein affair. He lived in a mansion off Central Park, had a private island, a ranch and other properties. He went everywhere by private jet. He entertained the wealthy, famous and powerful. Because he did all this, we assumed he was fabulously rich himself. That’s what we do: we fill TV shows and magazines with fawning items about “billionaires” and “multi-millionaires” without checking if they really are as they seem.