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French Edmond de Rothschild group general director Ariane de Rothschild looks on during a press conference in Lorient, north-western France on December 3, 2025. (Photo by Loic VENANCE \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
LOIC VENANCE<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Epstein made millions of dollars after the U.S. Justice Department settled an investigation into Switzerland-based private bank Edmond de Rothschild Group in 2015.<\/p>\n
The institution, founded by the French branch of the storied centuries-old Rothschild banking dynasty, was the subject<\/a> of a Justice Department probe under the Obama administration into whether it had helped wealthy U.S. citizens evade taxes.<\/p>\n Epstein, according to a Miami Herald review of records released by the Justice Department, had consulted for the bank and one of its owners, Baroness Ariane de Rothschild, on this issue.<\/p>\n He was paid $25 million for consulting on \u201cstrategic business matters\u201d and \u201cestate planning\u201d in December 2015 after the Justice Department settled with the bank, two business agreements and wire transfers show. The agreements \u2060\u2014 made with Epstein\u2019s Southern Trust Company \u2060\u2014 were signed by executives of the Swiss bank and de Rothschild.<\/p>\n While the agreements do not spell out the details of the work Epstein did for the Rothschilds, an earlier draft of the documents reveals more information, the Herald found.<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s remuneration, according to the draft, was on a sliding scale: He would be paid $10 million if the Justice Department imposed a penalty that was between $75 million to $150 million. If the penalty was less than $75 million, Epstein\u2019s compensation would be $25 million.<\/p>\n The Justice Department settled on $45 million and agreed to not prosecute the bank, triggering the $25 million fees to Epstein.<\/p>\n The settlement was one among 75 agreements the agency finalized that year as part of a program for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cThis happened under the Obama Administration and the vast majority of employees who worked on it have since left the department,\u201d a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n As questions have swirled about how the disgraced financier made his fortune, Epstein\u2019s relationship with the Rothschilds provides insight into how he was a master at cultivating connections that were both financially lucrative and enabled his access to the global elite.<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s role in the bank\u2019s deal with federal prosecutors in the United States was just one example of the relationship he had with the storied European family.<\/p>\n The baroness discussed with him internal family issues and her health problems. Epstein offered his advice on how she could consolidate her power within her family and secure her and her daughters\u2019 futures. He guided her through a restructuring of the bank and offered his encouragement and support when she expressed doubts about her abilities or told him that she was exhausted from dealing with the pressure.<\/p>\n \u201c[It] kills me to see you spending \u2026 your amazing talents as part of the working class,\u201d Epstein wrote in a Dec. 13, 2017, email to de Rothschild, whose family\u2019s net worth is several billion dollars. \u201cI am always there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Edmond de Rothschild Group said the baroness had \u201cno knowledge whatsoever\u201d of Epstein\u2019s illicit activities and that she \u201cunequivocally condemns such behavior and the crimes of which he is guilty.\u201d He said she \u201cexpresses her sincere compassion\u201d his victims.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Epstein sought to give his opinion or advice or even make suggestions, most of the time unsolicited, to Ms. de Rothschild as he did with many of his interlocutors,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cThis in no way implies that Ms. de Rothschild followed all his advice . . . It was clearly the manipulative method of Mr. Epstein to promote his ideas and projects. And to try in this way to put himself at the center of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s guiding hand<\/p>\n Epstein, according to the spokesperson, was introduced to de Rothschild by Norwegian diplomat Terje R\u00f8d-Larsen. He did not say when that meeting occurred.<\/p>\n Epstein and de Rothschild\u2019s correspondence, the records show, dates back to at least 2013 \u2014 five years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor and had to register as a sex offender.<\/p>\n They regularly exchanged messages and calls and invited each other to their homes for dinner. The baroness gave Epstein interior design tips and picked out antique furniture and vases worth more than $500,000 for the financier to buy for his properties.<\/p>\n Epstein helped one of her daughters with her college applications, showed her around New York and secured her an appointment at the glamorous New York salon owned by his associate<\/a>, celebrity hairstylist Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Fekkai.<\/p>\n The period was a rocky one for the Rothschild family.<\/p>\n Besides federal prosecutors in the United States, the bank was also probed by authorities in the country of Luxembourg for the institution\u2019s alleged role in the $4.5 billion 1MDB scandal \u2014 a global embezzlement, bribery and money laundering scheme involving Malaysia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund. (The bank became the first ever to be convicted in Luxembourg for money laundering and paid<\/a> roughly $28.5 million as a penalty last year.)<\/p>\n De Rothschild and her husband, Benjamin, were also in the midst of a battle with Benjamin\u2019s cousin, David de Rothschild, regarding who could use the family name for their businesses.<\/p>\n Epstein acted as Ariane de Rothschild\u2019s confidant and guide throughout this tumultuous time, the records show.<\/p>\n He characterized the bank as a supertanker that needed good leadership to navigate through stormy seas. He encouraged de Rothschild to restructure the institution and consolidate her power internally, even suggesting she push out her husband, with whom she shared a difficult relationship.<\/p>\n Benjamin de Rothschild handed over control of the bank to his wife in early 2015.<\/p>\n \u201c[I]f you need help paying for a divorce attny and battle, ill be there [sic.]\u201d, Epstein wrote to her on May 4, 2015. The baroness thanked him for his kindness.<\/p>\n Later that year, as negotiations culminated between the Justice Department and the bank, de Rothschild wrote again to the financier: \u201c$45 mio [million]?\u201d<\/p>\n Epstein replied saying that she would find total expenses of $80 million \u2014 including the penalty, legal fees and his remuneration \u2014 to settle the investigation to be a \u201cpretty good\u201d deal.<\/p>\n \u201c[A] giant thk u [sic.]!,\u201d de Rothschild replied. \u201cI\u2019m relieved that it\u2019s settled and over.\u201d<\/p>\n Epstein also encouraged de Rothschild to explore potential mergers with two other Swiss banking giants \u2014 UBS in 2015 and Julius Baer two years later. Neither of those two deals came to fruition.<\/p>\n Epstein and the baroness continued corresponding into 2019, the records show.<\/p>\n FBI officials arrested Epstein on federal sex-trafficking charges on July 6, 2019. He was found dead in federal custody in New York roughly a month later.<\/p>\n De Rothschild\u2019s husband, Benjamin, died of a heart attack in 2021.<\/p>\n French authorities raided<\/a> the bank\u2019s Paris offices last month as part of an investigation related to Epstein\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n This story has been updated to include a U.S. Justice Department statement the Miami Herald received after publication.<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 5:30 AM.<\/p>\n
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