Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Saturday, July 26th. Today on Forbes, how Jeffrey Epstein got so rich.

At the time of his death in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was a fabulously wealthy man. Between his collection

of lavish homes, two private Caribbean islands, and nearly $380 million in

cash and investments, he was worth $578 million, according to his estate. Exactly how he

accrued those riches is at the heart of the ongoing scandal. The less interesting possibility

is that Epstein's sex crimes were separate from his day job

as a financial advisor to billionaires, to whom he offered investment, estate, and tax planning

services.

In a 2013 corporate filing, Epstein described himself as, quote, an experienced and successful

financier and businessman, a, quote, entrepreneur who has built several highly

profitable companies, and, quote, one of the pioneers of derivative and option-based investing.

The more scandalous scenario, as alleged by many of President Trump's supporters and conspiracy

theorists, is that Epstein secretly taped his wealthy friends engaging in sex

crimes with trafficked minors in his homes and on his islands, and then blackmailed them,

with his financial business serving as cover. The full origins of Epstein's wealth remain shrouded

in mystery, but what is clear, according to Forbes's review of court filings, an investigative

memo, and financial records, is that Epstein relied above all on two billionaire clients

and a tax gimmick to build his fortune.

Victoria's Secrets' longtime chief, Les Wexner, and private equity honcho, Leon Black,

were Epstein's two largest financial clients.

Of the more than $800 million in revenue, Epstein's two key businesses brought in from 1999 to

2018, Epstein collected at least $490 million in fees, with the rest coming from gains on investments.

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