Directed by Lisa Bryant, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich investigates the events that preceded Epstein's 2019 arrest and sudden death. Overall, the Netflix docuseries offers little information about the psychology behind Jeffrey Epstein's predatory behavior, but does reveal plenty about how the American businessman used his wealth for sexual purposes in private situations. Based on James Patterson's eponymous 2016 book, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich released in May 2020.
Epstein's downfall correlates with the #MeToo movement that emerged in October 2017. At the time, he was already well-known for having a powerful circles of friends, and also for serving a brief jail sentence in 2008 for "procuring for prostitution a girl below age 18." As the Netflix docuseries reveals, or reminds (depending on how much one already knows), Epstein was granted a work release that allowed him to leave prison six days a week for 12 hours per day. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich details how Epstein used his power and wealth to not only manipulate the American justice system, but to also manipulate impressionable young women who were lured with the promise of work, only to be sexually assaulted.
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges involving minors. Four months later, he was found dead in a cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, the result of an alleged suicide. The Netflix docuseries addresses Epstein's mysterious death and subsequent conspiracy theories, but mostly devotes its four episodes to stories from survivors. Here are the biggest reveals in Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.
How Jeffrey Epstein Targeted Young Women
Epstein victimized numerous young women over the years, and Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich affords several of them the opportunity to recall their experiences. Though each person has a unique story to tell, the recurring theme is that Epstein - in collaboration with his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell - would recruit teenage girls to provide massages for $200. From there, Epstein would typically ask the young women to remove their clothes, and ultimately use his power to psychologically control each victim. Incidentally, many of the minors would then recruit friends for $200, which was an open secret in communities and social circles. The paradox, however, is that legal authorities had secret deals with Epstein, most notably when the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alexander Acosta, agreed to a plea deal that protected Epstein and various acquaintances.
Numerous Epstein victims appear on camera throughout Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, explaining their motivations for initial meetings and long-term relationships. Some girls found financial stability by staying with Epstein, while others recognized professional opportunities and the potential to travel. Unfortunately, many of the survivors didn't understand that they were actually being paid to be part of a larger sex trafficking ring, one involving powerful figures around the world. The Netflix docuseries humanizes several women who were previously known as "Jane Doe" in legal documents, and builds to a moving sequence whey they're collectively allowed to speak together in court, if only after Epstein's death.
Jeffrey Epstein Taught College Courses Without A College Degree
In one of Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich's few sequences about Epstein's early years, the aforementioned Patterson discusses the Epstein's privileged behavior. For example, Epstein attended The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art after graduating high school in 1969, but ultimately only attended the institution for two years while studying physics. Due to his charm and intellect, Epstein managed to land a teaching positing at The Dalton School in New York City's Upper East Side. In the Netflix docuseries, Patterson states, "This was probably the start of Epstein's lifelong pattern of getting away with things that most people can't."
By 1976, Epstein secured a job with Bear Stearns. According to a former executive, Michael Tennenbaum - one of the numerous interviewees in Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich - Epstein was a "terrific" employee while developing and marketing a quantitative analysis program. After two months, however, his fraudulent resume was discovered. Epstein then admitted to his lies, and even impressed Tennenbaum with his candor. As it turns out, Epstein had been dating the daughter of chairman Alan "Ace" Greenberg, and was allowed to keep his position. Epstein later became a limited partner, only to be fired for "breaking some rules," according to Tennenbaum.
Jeffrey Epstein Used Business To Fuel His Sexual Assaults
In Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, journalist Charles Gasparino describes Epstein as a "cipher" - a man with an "elusive" trail. Years after being fired from Bear Stearns, Epstein continued to make money by surrounding himself with Wall Street professionals. Still, nobody knew how he managed to become so rich. During a bizarre interview, disgraced businessman Steven Hoffenberg recalls hiring Epstein to assist with the Tower Financial Corporation, which was essentially a Ponzi scheme; a fraudulent operation that involves misleading clients about their profits. He states, "Without me, he [Epstein] wouldn't be the billionaire he is today, and these poor girls would not be raped." The sequence provides insight about how Epstein charmed various executives and helped them achieve "substantial results" by manipulating stock prices and trading illegally.
The tragedy of Epstein's business practices is that he applied them to his personal experiences with young girls. As a whole, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich shows Epstein had an eye for picking out people in need, and would then exploit them by wielding his immense power. With each interaction, Epstein developed what a lawyer describes as a "molestation pyramid scheme." The Netflix docuseries also reveals that many survivors still struggle with the fact that they actively recruited other women for the private operation. In one case, a survivor introduced Epstein to her younger sister, who was then sent to to Spain for a collegiate opportunity, but later became yet another victim of sexual assault.
Jeffrey Epstein Recorded All Of His Guests
Like Donald Trump, Epstein has long been known as a powerful American businessman; someone who could afford to purchase homes in New York City, Florida, New Mexico, and even Paris. From episode to episode, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich shows Epstein utilized his intellect and wealth to create an elite professional circle, along with a personal circle in which he lived out his sexual fantasies. Many victims recall Epstein implying that he could absolve himself of any problematic legal situation, and that he "owned" certain people.
In a disturbing final moment, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich reveals Epstein monitored each and every room of his New York City apartment, with the implication being that he was able to attain evidence for blackmail purposes, all the while maintaining a specific lifestyle involving young women. And therein lies the true source of Epstein's wealth, it seems, which is supported by a sequence involving billionaire Lex Wexner, who suspiciously looked the other way as his friend (and rumored sexual partner), Epstein, posed as a Victoria's Secret recruiter and manipulated women into satisfying his sexual desires.
Jeffrey Epstein's Hanging & What Happened To His Money
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich ends with various sequences about Epstein's 2019 arrest and death. The Netflix docuseries doesn't necessarily include one huge revelation to fuel conspiracy theories, though it does show that renowned forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht doesn't believe Epstein's autopsy records are consistent with a suicide, evidenced by his commentary about fractures of the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage. To Wecht, a death by hanging would be "extremely rare."
What Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich does reveal, though, is the disturbing fact that Epstein signed a Last Will and Testament document two days before his death, and moved his entire wealth ($577 million) to a Virgin Islands account. If he did indeed plan to kill himself, then this last financial move was seemingly designed to make victim compensation more difficult. According to the aforementioned Gasparino, "That just says it all about Jeffrey Epstein, you know. It was a 'f**k you' to the victims." The last moments of Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich are dedicated to the powerful friendships amongst survivors, and how they've collectively coped through their shared trauma.