A College Dropout’s Shadowy Ascent to Billions: The New York Times Uncovers the Scams and Deceptions Behind Jeffrey Epstein’s Empire
In a bombshell investigation published on December 16, 2025, The New York Times has peeled back the layers of mystery surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s vast fortune, revealing a tale of relentless deception, theft, and manipulation rather than financial genius. Titled “Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich,” the report details how a college dropout from a modest Brooklyn background clawed his way into the elite circles of American finance, amassing hundreds of millions through lies and cons that enabled his decades-long criminal enterprise.
Epstein’s improbable rise began in the mid-1970s as a young math and physics teacher at Manhattan’s prestigious Dalton School. Despite lacking a college degree—a fact he often concealed—he charmed parents of his students. One fateful evening in 1976 at a Midtown art gallery, Epstein networked with a Dalton parent who connected him to Ace Greenberg, then a top executive at Bear Stearns. Greenberg, impressed by Epstein’s apparent intellect despite his ignorance of Wall Street basics, hired the 23-year-old on the spot. Epstein quickly ascended at the investment bank, becoming a limited partner by 1980, but his tenure was marred by early deceptions: falsifying his education, abusing expense accounts, and granting a girlfriend insider access to deals.
Fired from Bear Stearns in 1981 amid scandals, Epstein reinvented himself as a self-styled “bounty hunter” for lost assets and a manager for the ultra-wealthy. The Times uncovered his first major windfalls through outright scams. In one instance, he deceived video-game executive Douglas Stroll, convincing him to invest in dubious schemes. Another involved locating hidden funds from a collapsed brokerage—earning him millions—though much of his early success stemmed from exploiting trust and vanishing with investors’ money, including from the Simon & Schuster chief executive.
The pivotal breakthrough came in the late 1980s when Epstein ingratiated himself with billionaire Leslie Wexner, founder of retail giants like Victoria’s Secret. Despite warnings from Wexner’s advisers—who described Epstein as untrustworthy—Wexner granted him extraordinary power of attorney over his finances, philanthropy, and personal affairs. Epstein managed Wexner’s vast portfolio, charging exorbitant fees while transferring properties like a Manhattan mansion and private jet into his own name. From 1999 to 2018 alone, Epstein pocketed nearly $490 million in fees, with $370 million coming from just Wexner and Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black.
The investigation, drawing on unpublished interviews, archives, diaries, and records, portrays Epstein not as a sophisticated financier but as a prodigious liar who convinced billionaires their finances were in chaos, then charged handsomely to “fix” them—often through tax avoidance schemes or insider deals. He exaggerated connections, falsely claimed ties to the Rockefellers, and used Wexner’s clout to access figures like Alan Dershowitz, whom he bailed out of bad investments in exchange for future loyalty.
This ill-gotten wealth—private islands, jets, and palatial homes—shielded Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation for years, insulating him from scrutiny while he abused hundreds of underage girls. The Times found no evidence of spy work or blackmail rings fueling his fortune; instead, it was prosaic greed and manipulation.
As federal Epstein files continue to trickle out under a new transparency law, this exposé underscores a darker truth: Epstein’s empire was built on deception, preying on the elite’s vulnerabilities. Victims and advocates hope it prompts deeper accountability, ensuring no one again amasses such power through scams unchecked.
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