In light of the new Netflix documentary Filthy Rich: Jeffrey Epstein, which reexamines Epstein's life and crimes, we're resurfacing this story about Epstein's finances when he died. This story originally ran on 8/19/2019.


When Jeffrey Epstein died in jail in August of 2019, a death which has been ruled a suicide, he was worth $577,672,654, according to a will signed just two days before his death. The document, which was filed in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, and was first published by the New York Post, reveals that Epstein put the sum of his wealth into a trust titled the The 1953 Trust, likely named after the year he was born.

But now that he's dead, what happens to the money?

Details regarding who was named beneficiary of the trust have yet to be made public.

Epstein was unmarried and does not have any known children, so it would appear that his younger brother Mark would be his next of kin. Epstein also has a niece and a nephew. As the Miami Herald reported, an organization known as Morse Genealogical Services has also started looking for those who could have been fathered by Epstein.

“We have reason to believe that based on his [Epstein’s] behavior that there may be some unidentified children that are out there and as such, they would likely be entitled to claim against the estate," Morse told the Herald.

While Epstein's death effectively brings to an end his criminal case, victims could still sue his estate in civil court, reports NPR.

"The recourse is through the civil cases, the lawsuits against his estate," Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and Law Professor told Weekend Edition. But Epstein's death makes things a bit more complicated.

"He wasn't deposed, and now he's not available to defend himself," Kerry Lawrence, a former federal prosecutor, told NPR.

"Any restitution that they might have sought for victims or forfeiture of assets in connection with the prosecution all effectively disappear."

But that doesn't mean Epstein's victims aren't going to try.

Lisa Bloom, who is representing some of women with allegations against Epstein made it clear on Twitter that she and her clients plan to pursue civil cases against his estate.

"I am calling today for the administrators of Jeffrey Epstein’s estate to freeze all his assets and hold them for his victims who are filing civil cases. Their lives have been shattered by his sexual assaults, their careers derailed. They deserve full and fair compensation NOW," she wrote."

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As of August 19, several of Epstein's alleged victims have filed lawsuits against his estate.

The Miami Herald also reports that even though Epstein is dead, federal prosecutors could still seize his properties that are associated with his alleged crimes through forfeiture, such as his New York City home:

There is precedent for such a move. In 2007, the Department of Justice brought a civil forfeiture action against the estate of the founder of Enron Corporation, CEO Kenneth Lay, who died of a heart attack while facing charges of engineering a massive fraud.
[Former federal prosecutor Jeff] Marcus said he thinks it’s likely that federal prosecutors will do the same in this case due to the number of victims and the vast extent of the estate.
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Caroline Hallemann
Digital Director

As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects