Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein was the wealthy American financier who was arrested, convicted, freed and then arrested again on charges of sexually abusing young women. While in jail awaiting trial, Epstein killed himself a month after being arrested. Born to a working-class family in New York, Jeffrey Epstein taught math at the Dalton School, a prestigious Manhattan prep academy, before joining the Wall Street firm Bear Sterns in 1976. He soon showed an aptitude for high finance, moving up to limited partner before founding his own firm, J. Esptein & Company (later the Financial Trust Company), in 1982. Exceedingly private about his work, Epstein was said to manage the money of only clients who had a net worth of more than one billion dollars. Increasingly wealthy and well-connected, Epstein became a famous figure in New York and beyond. He lived in a 21,000-square-foot Manhattan mansion, hobnobbed with former president Bill Clinton and future president Donald Trump, and moved his corporate headquarters to the Virgin Islands. He sat on the board of the Rockefeller Foundation, and donated $30 million to Harvard University among other philanthropic gestures. But in 2005, Epstein's image changed when he was charged with paying for sexual activities with a series of underaged women. Although numerous accusers came forward, Epstein eventually pleaded guilty in 2006 to a single state charge of soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. His modest sentence -- 13 months in a private wing of the Palm Beach County Jail -- sparked outrage among his victims. But Epstein returned to his business and normal life until July 6, 2019 when he was arrested by the FBI at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex. The Washington Examiner reported that if convicted, Epstein faced up to 45 years in prison. Several days after his arrest, Epstein was unconscious in his jail cell with marks around his neck. He was put on a suicide watch, but was found in his cell dead from hanging on August 10, 2019.