New email trove reveals Epstein’s ruthless 'handbook' to stay in Wall Street’s good graces
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Jeffrey Epstein (image via screengrab)
Many of the documents from trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's estate have revealed shocking ties to top Wall Street executives previously unknown. However, a new collection of documents shows that Epstein's hands reached much further than initially thought.
Five reporters authored a detailed piece for Bloomberg digging through the recent trove of emails that provide a glimpse inside Epstein's work as an investor and financial adviser. The piece is the seventh in a series of stories as the team at Bloomberg sorts its way through the release of emails.
Max Abelson, Harry Wilson, Jason Leopold, Jeff Kao and Surya Mattu revealed that the Epstein didn't only used his leverage over people when his financial gambles flopped. He also used it to score relationships with some of the most "sought-after hedge funds" like Renaissance Technologies, "whose reputation for success is almost mythical," wrote Leopold in an X thread.
Once Epstein’s abuse of teenage girls became public, Wall Street tycoons still stayed close to him. He kept ties to big names in global finance, including billionaire Carl Icahn’s firm, and while he pushed prosecutors for a lenient plea deal, he was also threatening to sue Bear Stearns and its top executives over heavy financial losses, Leopold continued in the thread.
The one observation he had is that "the email cache doesn’t solve a central Epstein enigma: How did a former math teacher without a college degree turn himself into a globetrotting money manager with his own island?"
What it does show, however, is that he was friendly when it suited him, aggressive when needed, and it was often effective enough to score influence and make money.
Epstein "found the right doors to banks, brokerages, billionaires and investments. When something went wrong, he had a playbook to handle it, often ruthlessly," wrote Leopold.
When things took a turn legally, the emails show that many of his elite Wall Street pals rushed to help jumped to help keep the cash flowing.
Thanks to Epstein, Bear's investment fund scored "tens of millions of dollars."
Epstein also "helped oversee one of Bear CEO Jimmy Cayne’s trusts," Leopold said of the documents. "When Bear’s stock hit $100 for the first time, Epstein bought 100 shares and presented them to Cayne as a gift."
When the subprime mortgage market crashed and Bear’s hedge funds — where Epstein had money — collapsed, a lawyer representing other wealthy investors invited Epstein to join a quiet plan to vote out the funds’ directors, install an ally, and investigate the debacle to claw back losses.
After Bear Stearns fell apart the following March, Epstein prepared to sue the firm and several top executives, casting himself as a victim in a June 2008 draft lawsuit.
In any given week, a deal sent Epstein’s way might be for him personally or for billionaire Les Wexner, the force behind Victoria’s Secret — and even Epstein was sometimes "hesitated to say what went where," characterized Leopold.