Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier born in 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, to a middle-class family. He studied mathematics and physics at New York University and later at Columbia University, but dropped out of school before graduating. His professional life began modestly as a teacher at an elite private school in Manhattan, where he cultivated relationships with affluent families that opened the doors to Wall Street for him. In time, he emerged as a wealth manager serving members of the global elite.
Behind his polished social façade lay a network of sexual exploitation involving underage girls. It often began with offers of money or employment and ended in abuse, amid persistent reports that many encounters were extensively documented. Investigations commenced in Florida in 2006 and concluded in 2008 with a plea agreement widely criticised for its leniency.
His name returned to the forefront in 2019, when federal charges of sex trafficking were brought against him. He was arrested in July and found dead in his prison cell the following month. His death was officially ruled a suicide, yet the unusual circumstances surrounding his detention and supervision gave rise to enduring suspicion and speculation.
Some point to his possible links to Mossad through his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, whose father was a known Israeli spy, and assert that he blackmailed powerful figures to exert influence. Was Epstein actually a spy? Al Majalla explores the issue in its March cover story.
Read more:
1. Was Epstein a Mossad operative? by London Al Majalla
2. A murky beginning and end: the Jeffrey Epstein story by London Al Majalla
