現年66歲的杰弗里·愛潑斯坦于星期一在紐約被起訴，罪名是在位于上東區的豪華住宅以及佛羅里達州棕櫚灘的一處住所中經營性交易團伙。至于這位投資家是如何發家致富的，以及他是如何長期保持影響力的，仍有許多未知之處。

在這個聳人聽聞的故事里，最新進展是愛潑斯坦被控在2002年至2005年間經營性交易團伙，付錢給小至14歲的女孩進行性交易。紐約南區聯邦檢察官杰弗里·伯曼在周一表示，如果罪名成立，最高可判45年監禁。檢察官要求法官拒絕保釋，因為愛潑斯坦的財富讓他有潛逃的風險。他的保釋聽證會定于7月15日。

愛潑斯坦出生于紐約，因與知名商界名流、政界大亨以及包括美國總統唐納德·特朗普和前總統比爾·克林頓在內的名人交往密切而出名。

愛潑斯坦在發家致富前，是曼哈頓一所私立學校的數學和物理老師。他于20世紀70年代末踏入金融界，在國際投行貝爾斯登（Bear Stearns）擔任期權交易員。1980年，愛潑斯坦成為該公司的有限責任合伙人。

兩年后，他創建了自己的財務管理公司愛潑斯坦公司（J. Epstein & Co.），據信由該公司管理資產的客戶身家超過10億美元。據估計，愛潑斯坦身家有數億美元。

一些已發表的文章稱，1996年，愛潑斯坦將公司更名為Financial Trust Co.，將總部設在美屬維京群島，目的主要是為了避稅。然而，根據2002年《紐約雜志》（New York Magazine）和2003年《名利場》（Vanity Fair）人物報道中對愛潑斯坦的描繪，他的身上籠罩著一層神秘和敬意。

在《紐約雜志》的文章中，愛潑斯坦被描述成一個成敗都不在公眾視線里顯山露水的人。“愛潑斯坦打破了常規。”該雜志寫道，“街上的大多數人都聽說過他，但是似乎沒有人知道他到底在搞什么鬼。他就喜歡這樣。”

據報道，特朗普是他的粉絲。該雜志引用了特朗普的話：“我已經認識杰夫15年了。他很棒。和他在一起很有意思。甚至有人說他和我一樣喜歡漂亮女性，而且更喜歡年輕姑娘。毫無疑問，杰弗里很享受他的社交生活。”

《名利場》的文章標題為《天才愛潑斯坦》（The Talented Mr. Epstein），意為向小說及同名電影電影《天才雷普利》（The Talented Mr. Ripley）致敬。愛潑斯坦是零售巨頭萊斯利·韋克斯納的主要投資者和基金經理。韋克斯納是有限品牌公司（Limited Brands Inc.，簡稱L Brands Inc.）的創始人。該公司擁有多個面向女性顧客的商場品牌，包括維多利亞的秘密（Victoria’s Secret）和Bath & Body Works。

該雜志還寫把愛潑斯坦描寫成一個活躍于交際場上的人。文章中寫道，“一個熱愛女人的男人——很多女人，大部分是年輕姑娘。聽說，模特們常說她們非常感謝愛潑斯坦讓她們能到處飛，他也是很多維密天使的老熟人。”

《名利場》雜志還稱，從20世紀80年代初就認識愛潑斯坦的朋友只有少數，他們還記得，他曾告訴他們，自己是一名“賞金獵人”，為政府或富人追回丟失或被盜的錢。他還有持槍執照。他還擔任了幾個委員會的委員，包括外交關系委員會、紐約科學院和國際教育研究所。

《名利場》的文章稱，愛潑斯坦影響力很強，其他人形容他慷慨、殘酷、甚至“不計后果”。

為《名利場》撰寫這篇文章的記者維姬·沃德在周一告訴微軟全國有線廣播電視公司（MSNBC），在她的記錄里，有年輕的兩姐妹告訴她，她們其中一個在未成年時遭愛潑斯坦性侵。沃德說，愛潑斯坦聯系了雜志的編輯，刪除了她們的話，文章仍然只寫了他的神秘生意。

“這是杰弗里·愛潑斯坦過去16年一直在營造的主題。”沃德告訴MSNBC，“他是不可捉摸的，從與他交往、或者被他利用的富豪以及權勢者手里拿到了免費通行證。”

2003年，愛潑斯坦向哈佛大學捐款3000萬美元，希望在這所常青藤名校開創數學生物學和進化動力學項目，登上新聞頭條。

本周一，愛潑斯坦對聯邦刑事指控堅決不認罪，這些指控與10多年前佛羅里達州指控他性侵的罪名類似。當時他向佛羅里達州聯邦檢察官辦公室承認了兩項嫖娼罪名，該辦公室那時由現任特朗普總統的勞工部部長亞歷山大·阿科斯塔主管。愛潑斯坦被判13個月監禁，其性犯罪者的身份也被登記在冊。

今年4月，一名聯邦法官裁定，佛羅里達州檢察官在愛普斯坦案中，在不讓原告之情的情況下向被告提供了秘密認罪協議，違反了相關法律。美國司法部也正在調查此事。（財富中文網）

譯者：Agatha

The 66-year-old was indicted Monday in New York on charges he operated a sex trafficking ring at his luxurious Upper East Side mansion and a home in Palm Beach, Florida. There’s still much that’s unknown about how the financier made his fortune and how he was able to remain influential for so long.

In the latest chapter of the lurid saga, Epstein is charged with operating a sex-trafficking ring and paying girls as young as 14 to engage in sex acts from 2002 to 2005. The charges carry a maximum 45-year prison sentence if convicted, Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Monday. Prosecutors have asked the judge to deny bail because Epstein’s wealth makes him a flight risk. His bail hearing is set for July 15.

The New York-born Epstein is known for his ties to high-profile business types, political heavyweights and celebrities including U.S. President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton.

Before he made his riches, Epstein was a math and physics teacher at a private school in Manhattan. He entered the finance world in the late 1970s, working as an options trader for global investment banking company Bear Stearns. By 1980, Epstein was a limited partner.

Two years later, he created his own financial management firm, J. Epstein & Co., and was reportedly managing the assets of clients who were worth more than $1 billion. It’s estimated that Epstein is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

In 1996, Epstein changed his company’s name to The Financial Trust Co. and had its headquarters in the U.S. Virgin Islands primarily for tax purposes, according to published articles. Yet, according to profiles -- a 2002 New York Magazine story and a 2003 piece in Vanity Fair -- a shroud of mystery and admiration hovered over Epstein.

In the New York magazine profile, Epstein is described as someone who’s successes and failures weren’t played out in public. “Epstein breaks the mold,” the magazine wrote. “Most everyone on the Street has heard of him, but nobody seems to know what the hell he is up to. Which is just the way he likes it.”

He had a fan in Trump, according to the profile. “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life,” Trump was quoted as saying to the magazine.

In the Vanity Fair piece, “The Talented Mr. Epstein,” a nod to the book and movie, “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Epstein was the primary investor and money manager for retail magnate Leslie Wexner, the founder of Limited Brands, now called L Brands Inc. The company owns brand-name mall staples primarily for women including Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.

The magazine also described Epstein as a man about town. “A man who loves women - lots of them, mostly young. Model types have been heard saying they are full of gratitude to Epstein for flying them around, and he is a familiar face to many of the Victoria’s Secret girls,” according to the story.

Vanity Fair also said that the handful of friends who have known Epstein since the early 1980s remember him telling them he was a “bounty hunter,” recovering lost or stolen money for the government or wealthy people. He also had a license to carry a gun. He also sat on several commissions including the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of International Education.

The Vanity Fair piece said Epstein was immensely influential while others described him as generous, vicious, and even “reckless.”

Vicky Ward, the journalist who wrote the Vanity Fair story, told MSNBC on Monday that two young women who are sisters told her on the record that one of them was sexually assaulted by Epstein when she was underage. Ward said Epstein got in touch with the magazine’s editor and had their accounts removed from the article, which remained a story about his mysterious business affairs.

“That has been the motif of Jeffrey Epstein’s last 16 years,” Ward told the cable network. “He’s been untouchable, given a free pass by the very rich people, the very powerful people with whom he socializes and perhaps over whom he has leverage.”

In 2003, Epstein made headlines for giving $30 million to Harvard University to create mathematical biology and evolutionary dynamics programs at the Ivy League institution.

Epstein pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal criminal charges that are similar to those in Florida accusing him of being a sexual predator more than a decade ago. He pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges with the U.S. attorney’s office in Florida which was then overseen by Alexander Acosta, who is now President Trump’s secretary of labor. Epstein was sentenced to 13 months behind bars and became a registered sex offender.

In April, a federal judge ruled that the Florida prosecutors violated a law by offering the secretive plea deal without letting Epstein’s accusers know. The matter is also being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.