The documents show that the payments occurred years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution-related charges in Florida. Neither Zuckerman nor de Rothschild responded to requests for comment, according to Forbes.
New York, NY — Newly released documents from the U.S. Department of Justice have revealed that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein received tens of millions of dollars from previously unreported billionaire clients, according to an investigation by Forbes.
Buried within more than three million pages of records released last week, the documents identify real estate mogul Mortimer Zuckerman and Ariane de Rothschild, a Rothschild heir by marriage, as clients who paid Epstein unusually large sums for estate planning and financial advisory services. According to Forbes, the two clients together appear to have paid Epstein approximately $45 million between 2013 and 2015.
Estate planning experts interviewed by Forbes described the fees as highly irregular and far above industry norms, particularly given that Epstein was neither a licensed attorney nor a certified accountant. “Those fees are insane,” one expert told the publication.
The documents show that the payments occurred years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution-related charges in Florida. Neither Zuckerman nor de Rothschild responded to requests for comment, according to Forbes.
The revelations help clarify how Epstein accumulated his estimated $600 million fortune. Forbes previously reported that Epstein’s U.S. Virgin Islands–based companies generated more than $800 million in revenue from wealthy clients between 1999 and 2018. While much of that income had already been traced to known associates, more than $100 million remained unexplained until the latest disclosure.
According to Forbes, the largest newly identified payment came from Ariane de Rothschild and her affiliated companies in 2015, totaling $25 million. Contracts described the work as involving “strategic business matters” and estate planning. Draft agreements suggest the payments may have been linked to negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice over a settlement involving Edmond de Rothschild (Suisse), which ultimately paid $45.2 million to resolve potential criminal liabilities.
Documents also indicate that Mortimer Zuckerman entered into estate planning agreements with Epstein’s firm in 2013 that could have resulted in payments of up to $20 million, although final invoices have not been located.
In addition, the newly released records show that financier Leon Black paid Epstein $88.5 million for estate-related services between 2013 and 2014, while paying traditional law firms a fraction of that amount for similar work.
Spokespeople for Black have maintained that independent reviews found the payments were for legitimate services and that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct.
Experts cited by Forbes questioned the vague language and extraordinary scale of the contracts, calling them “suspicious” and inconsistent with professional standards. The investigation raises further questions about whether Epstein’s clients were paying for services beyond conventional financial advising.
The findings underscore continuing concerns about the sources of Epstein’s wealth and the nature of his relationships with some of the world’s most powerful individuals.
Source: Forbes, “How Jeffrey Epstein Got So Rich: Two More Billionaire Clients”
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