Jeffrey Epstein has been described in different ways. As a pedophile and a grifter. As a fraudster and a trafficker. As a serial rapist and a sociopath. He has not, however, been described as a leader. Which he was – Epstein was a leader. The most mesmerizing thing about him – the reason why years after he came to our attention he remains a national obsession – was his singular ability to get so many of the highest and mightiest of men to follow where he led.
Epstein was not a “leader” as this word is usually understood – because this word is usually misunderstood. Usually we associate “leader” with a person in a position of authority. Such as a president or a principal, a general or a chief executive. People like this are leaders, they are formal leaders. But as we know when we think about it some people are informal leaders. They do not hold positions of authority, but they are able nevertheless to get other people to do what they want them to do.
How exactly? How exactly was Epstein able to do what he did? To get other men, many of whom were leaders themselves, to follow where he led? Epstein had no formal authority. But rather early on he began to accumulate power and gain influence. By “power” I refer to Epstein’s ability to reward men if they did what he wanted them to do. And to his ability to punish them, or credibly to threaten to punish them, if they did not do what he wanted them to do. By “influence” I refer to Epstein’s ability to persuade men to do what he wanted them to do of their own volition.
One of the rewards that Epstein provided was sex. He provided men who wanted sex with young women with sex with young women. But to see Epstein only or even primarily as a pedophile or a trafficker misses the point. The reason Epstein has resonated for so long and the reason his tentacles have reached so far is because he also had influence. He pulled people into his orbit by beguiling them with his homes as well as his harems; his wealth as well as his women; his persuasiveness as well as his purse; his connections and associations, his intuitiveness and intelligence, his charm and his chutzpah. Epstein did not, in other words, peddle only young women. He was also a banker and a broker, a financer, a flatterer, and a convener whose attractions included money and information; fabulous homes featuring excellent food and better guests; and a large network of powerful players in government and business; finance, technology and philanthropy; entertainment; academia; the media and the law – as well as occasional royals from Europe and the Middle East. All these before – and a decade after – he had been indicted, convicted and imprisoned in Florida for procuring a child for prostitution,
To read some of the e mails between Epstein and his followers is to understand his hold over them. He had tangible assets with which he could reward them. And he had hard information with which he could destroy them. But… Epstein was also described, repeatedly, as being exceptionally good company and an exceptionally good host. Woody Allen was a dinner guest at Epstein’s house. But so was Allen’s wife, Soon-Yi Allen, who in one recently released email thanks Epstein for hosting the them for dinner the night before. To understand why so many powerful people – people who themselves were leaders in their respective fields – followed where Epstein led must be to understand that many of them seemed genuinely to enjoy his company in addition to valuing the benefits that he bestowed.
The voluminous correspondences show that Epstein was associated not just with sex but more generally with the good things in life. These included the pleasures of the largest privately owned home in Manhattan, a private plane, a private island in the Caribbean, good food, good company, and a good time. Just one example: Epstein offered right wing activist and media executive Steve Bannon, with whom he exchanged thousands of texts, the use of an apartment in Paris, a home in Palm Beach, and his private plane. Epstein also gifted Bannon with among other things an Apple watch for Christmas, and he promised to help Bannon raise money for his political activities. But if Epstein procured sex for Bannon there is, so far, no evidence for it.
Like all bad leaders, Epstein did not act alone. He had a large band of enablers, of followers who made it possible for him to do what he did including committing countless crimes. Ghislaine Maxwell was only the most prominent of these, she was Epstein’s indispensable procurer and facilitator. But in addition to Maxwell was a large cast of characters – ranging from bankers and brokers to pilots and drivers to cooks and cleaners – who directly or indirectly enabled his wrongdoing. Followers who followed their leader though they knew or at least strongly suspected that what he was doing was wrong.
Epstein was a leader. He was a bad leader and he still is. He left behind a slew of women victims. And even as I write his hand is reaching from the grave to ruin the reputations, wreck the careers, and destroy the lives of those who chose to follow his lead.