Jeffrey Epstein was primarily known as a wealthy financier and money manager who worked for ultra‑rich clients, but he is now infamous for his later conviction as a sex offender and sex trafficker of minors.

Early Career: Teacher

Epstein started his working life as a math and physics teacher at the Dalton School, a prestigious private school in Manhattan, in the mid‑1970s. He was hired despite lacking formal teaching credentials, and he left the school in 1976 after only about two years.

Move into Finance

After leaving teaching, Epstein went into finance, landing a job at the investment bank Bear Stearns in New York. He rose quickly and became a limited partner there in 1980, but left in 1981 to start his own firm.

His Own Financial Business

In the early 1980s, Epstein founded his own consulting and money‑management firm, which he later ran as J. Epstein & Co.. He described himself as a “financial troubleshooter” or “bounty hunter” who helped very wealthy clients recover stolen or hidden money.

His main business was managing money for billionaires and extremely high‑net‑worth individuals. His most famous client was Leslie Wexner, the billionaire founder of L Brands (Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works), for whom Epstein served as personal money manager and adviser for many years.

Epstein also advised other wealthy figures, including Leon Black (co‑founder of Apollo Global Management), on tax, estate planning, and family office matters, earning tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in fees.

How He Made His Fortune

Epstein’s wealth came mostly from:

  • Managing Leslie Wexner’s fortune for over two decades, during which he gained control over many of Wexner’s assets and companies.
  • Providing tax and estate‑planning services to other billionaires, like Leon Black, who paid him large sums (e.g., $158 million, according to Senate reports).
  • Running his own investment and consulting firm that catered exclusively to clients worth at least $1 billion.

At the time of his death in 2019, Epstein was worth an estimated $500–600 million, almost entirely from his finance work for the ultra‑rich.

Public Image vs. Criminal Reality

Publicly, Epstein presented himself as a discreet, elite financier with connections to politicians, celebrities, and royalty. He lived in mansions in New York, Florida, and on a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and hosted powerful figures there.

Behind that image, he was later convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor and, in 2019, charged with federal sex trafficking of minors before dying in jail. His financial career enabled the lifestyle and network that supported those crimes.

Bottom line: Epstein’s official “job” was as a financier and money manager for billionaires, but he is now remembered far more for his crimes as a sex offender and trafficker than for his work in finance.