Jeffrey Epstein's trust explains what happened to his entire fortune when he died
Prior to taking his own life in a New York jail cell, Jeffrey Epstein made sure to sign off on a document which stated how he wanted to give away his multi-million dollar estate.
The latest batch of the infamous Epstein files were made public by the Department of Justice at the end of January, containing over three million documents.
Some of the snaps included the likes of Bill Gates with the disgraced financier, and even Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over a woman.
Numerous celebrities have been implicated in the files as well, though being named isn't proof of wrongdoing.
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But the fact of the matter is that Epstein, a convicted child sex offender, serial rapist and human trafficker, was very wealthy when he died.
So, where did all that money go?
What happened to Epstein's fortune?
Epstein signed a 32-page document called the 1953 Trust, just two days before taking his own life, which was made public in the latest release of the files last week.
It gave away much of his estate, worth around $100 million, to his girlfriend at the time, Karyna Shuliak.
He even gave her his 33-carat diamond ring.
While Epstein listed over 40 people who were entitled to a share of his wealth upon his death, it isn't clear how much any of them received, given that his estate has shrunk in size over the past seven years after paying taxes, lawyers' fees and covering restitutions to victims.
This trust hadn't been made public before, with it detailing that Shuliak get a total of $100 million, which included a $50 million annuity to be set up.
While she was entitled to a lot of his property, the estate has sold a chunk of his residences.
The other main beneficiaries in the trust include Epstein's personal lawyer, Darren Indyke, and his accountant, Richard Kahn, who would be entitled to $50 million and $25 million a piece.
It should be noted that they are co-executors of Epstein's estate.
While an initial investigation concluded that it is unknown who Epstein called the night before he took his own life, it has emerged that it was indeed Shuliak.
A number of the 40 names in the trust are redacted in the released files, while some visible names include his brother Mark Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on charges that she conspired with Epstein to sexually abuse teenage girls.
Both were set to receive $10 million from Epstein.
While it didn't make a provision for the underage girls who the convicted rapist abused, Indyke and Kahn set up a restitution fund which paid a total of $121 million to victims, with the estate paying out $49 million in settlements to victims.
How did Epstein get so rich?
Questions around Epstein's road to eye-watering wealth have persisted, though following a review of court filings by Forbes in 2025, including an investigative memo and financial records, two things became clear.
Epstein relied on two billionaire clients for a chunk of his fortune, while also using a tax gimmick to build his wealth.
The billionaires in question were former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner and private equity investor Leon Black, who were responsible for up to 75 percent of Epstein's fee income from 1999 to 2018.
In this period, Epstein collected at least $490 million in fees, in addition to gains on investments.
These entities were both based in the US Virgin Islands, being the financier's only 'revenue-generating' companies until his death, according to a 2022 expert report.
Epstein accumulated all his millions nearly tax free due to generous tax breaks in the US Virgin Isles, becoming a resident in 1996 and spending almost $8 million to buy Little Saint James Island just two years later.
This later became known as Epstein's Island.
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Crime, Money
Joshua Nair