File 030578
Vanity Fair Article: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - New York's Oddest Alliance (File 030578)
Email chain forwarding a March 2011 Vanity Fair article by Vicky Ward examining the relationship between billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, discussing allegations against Epstein and Maxwell's background and social connections.
Summary
Vicky Ward's Vanity Fair article analyzes the friendship between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in the context of renewed allegations against Epstein involving underage women. Ward provides personal observations of both individuals, noting Epstein's intellectual interests and business acumen, and Maxwell's vivacity and social prominence. The article explores how Maxwell's loyalty to friends like Bill Clinton and her father's criminal legacy may have normalized Epstein's behavior, while examining how wealth and success in New York society often shield individuals from scrutiny.
Date: Tuesday, March 8 2011 10:51 PMSubject: Re: Fwd: <no subject>From:To: jeevacation@gmail.com;Call me-----Original Message-----From: Jeffrey Epstein <jeevacation@gmail.com >To:Sent: Tue Mar 08 17:48:01 2011Subject: Fwd: <no subject>----------Forwarded message----------From: gmax <gmaxl@ellmax.com >Date: Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 12:17 PMSubject: <no subject>To: J Jep <jeevacation@gmail.com >Jeffrey and Ghislaine: Notes on New York's Oddest Alliance<http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/03/notes- on-new-yorks-oddest- couple-j effrey- ep stein- and-ghislaine-maxwell.html >by Vicky Ward <http://www.vanityfair.com/contributors/vicky- ward>March 8, 2011, 2:30 PM"I've got a story idea for you. The rebuilding of Indonesia. Or New Orleans. Or both. Go there. I've just been.You will never think the same way about anything again."So spoke not Bill or Melinda Gates, but Ghislaine Maxwell, the 48-year-old woman being written upeverywhere at the moment as the alleged "procurer" of young women for billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.Epstein, 57, is the financier who spent a year in jail on charges of soliciting prostitutes—and now there is talk ofanother investigation because various women, now in their twenties and thirties, have come forward withallegations that he molested them when they were under-age. The allegations first surfaced in Britishnewspapers, which have zeroed in on Epstein's friendship with Prince Andrew, who has recently tried topublicly disassociate himself from his old pal.I wrote a piece for Vanity Fair in 2003 called "The Talented Mr. Epstein." It was largely a business piece thatfocused on his mysterious exit from Bear Steams in 1981, his close relationships with Jimmy Cayne, LesWexner, the chairman of Limited Brands, and above all, the man who claimed to be his mentor, Steven JudeHoffenberg, who is currently serving a 20-year-jail sentence for bilking investors in Towers Financial out of$450 million.The piece alluded to Epstein's great friendship with Maxwell, and how she introduced him to young womenwith whom he had sexual relationships. But, in the end, the story didn't really go there, focusing instead on theissue that remains a mystery—how Jeffrey made his money, and how Ghislaine made hers.This is not to say I didn't hear stories about the girls. I did. But, not knowing quite who to believe, Iconcentrated on the intriguing financial mystery instead. But now the women have come back. Not the sameones, different ones. And their stories are bone-chilling. Journalists from England have phoned—and, in onecase, flown—to ask me about Epstein and Maxwell. Who is he? And the British, especially, want to know:Who is she? At this point, I am so bored of repeating myself to others—it was, after all, my 2003 VanityFairstory that really brought him into the limelight—that I have decided to write about this myselfHOUSE OVERSIGHT 030578Bizarrely, perhaps, I have gotten to know Jeffrey and Ghislaine far better after my piece than before it. I keptrunning into both of them, separately, at parties. Jeffrey is not a social animal so he usually has a couple ofyoung women with him who stand two feet behind him, as if serving a monarch. "Do they speak?" I rememberasking him once, nodding at his lookalike blondes. He laughed. "Not like you,Vicky," was his riposte.I remembered that when we'd once discussed math—in particular, an isosceles triangle—and I revealed Ihadn't studied math since I was 14 (such is, or was, the way of the British educational system), I received apackage at home via messenger. It was a book: "Math for idiots."So he is not without humor, even though he doesn't drink or smoke, and hates restaurants."Jeffrey knows a good deal about most subjects," newspaper publisher Mort Zuckerman told me last week. Hewas certainly preaching to the converted. The truth is, Epstein does know a lot about a lot of things. Just a fewmoments in his company and you know this to be true.When I saw pictures of Prince Andrew walking in Central Park with Jeffrey, my immediate thought was that"Andy"—as Jeffrey calls him—is probably asking for help with his role as British trade envoy, or whatever hisstrange title is. Because if one thing's for sure: When it comes to international business, Jeffrey knows whathe's talking about far more than "Andy" does. Which is why Leon Black, Mort Zuckerman and a few otherfinanciers hang out with him.And Ghislaine?Full disclosure: I like her. Most people in New York do. It's almost impossible not to.She is always the most interesting, the most vivacious, the most unusual person in any room. I've spent hourstalking to her about the third world at a bar until 2am. She is as passionate as she is knowledgeable. She iscurious. She has spent weeks at the bottom of the ocean, literally going deeper than anyone else. She has sentme a DVD of the fish there. Her rolodex would blow away almost anyone else's I can think of—probably evenRupert Murdochs'. She is very well-read and can talk about most things for hours. She is passionate about BillClinton with whom she is close friends.Yet, touchingly, when she had to give a speech at the 40th birthday party of her best friend, Ariadne Calvo-Platero, (known fondly to her close friends as "the Tennis Goddess") Ghislaine shook a little with nerves. Whenit comes down to things she really cares about—and Ariadne is one of them—Ghislaine shows hervulnerability.And that vulnerability is key to understanding her friendship with Jeffrey."He saved her," I remember a close friend of mine telling me. "When her father died, she was a wreck;inconsolable. And then Jeffrey took her in. She's never forgotten that—and never will."In many ways, the socially awkward Epstein with his big house, plane, island and ranch was the perfectreplacement for her father, the late Robert Maxwell, newspaper tycoon and criminal. Sure, Jeffrey had hissexual pecadillos, but then Ghislaine's father was not without his oddities. After all, it was he who died leavinga massive "black hole" he'd fraudulently created. To Ghislaine, Jeffrey's habits may not have seemed thatstrange.In fact, she probably figured, rather like I have, after years of writing about he very rich, that most successfulpeople in the end either have some weird habit (the late Bruce Wasserstein had the weight issues, the girl issues,and moved countries to avoid paying tax), or they break the law (Sam Waksal, Martha Stewart.) You don'ttend to get to the top by being the world's most balanced human being. Even the folksy Warren Buffett didn'tquite manage a normal life—whatever that is. He had a second "wife" for many years whose existence he hasbeen open about.HOUSE OVERSIGHT 030579So what to make of the current fuss over Ghislaine? I haven't spoken to her or to Jeffrey, but I suspect that herloyalty to friends like Bill Clinton will keep her in good stead, in the end, she'll be out and about as always.Look at Waksal and Stewart. No one sees them and thinks: criminal. Au contraire. In this city, money makes upfor all sorts of blemishes.-***********************************************************The information contained in this communication isconfidential, may be attorney-client privileged, mayconstitute inside information, and is intended only forthe use of the addressee. It is the property ofJeffrey EpsteinUnauthorized use, disclosure or copying of thiscommunication or any part thereof is strictly prohibitedand may be unlawful. If you have received thiscommunication in error, please notify us immediately byreturn e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com, anddestroy this communication and all copies thereof,including all attachments. copyright -all rights reservedNOTE:This message including any attachments contains infoimation, some or all of which, may be proprietaryor legally privileged. It is for the intended recipient only. If you have received this message by error, pleasenotify us immediately and destroy the related message. You, the recipient, are obligated to maintain it in a safe,secure, and confidential manner. Unauthorized re-disclosure or failure to maintain confidentiality could subjectyou to penalties described in Federal and State law. Next Management, LLC and any affiliate companies are notresponsible for errors or omissions in this message or any attachments.HOUSE OVERSIGHT 030580