Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein designated $5 million (£3.6 million) in his will to be inherited by Ghislaine Maxwell, as revealed in newly released documents by the US Department of Justice. The disclosure of Epstein’s bequest is part of a comprehensive document dump that included over 3 million pages related to investigations into the deceased sex offender.
Outlined in section 2.3 of Epstein’s will under “Bequests,” he stipulated that $5 million would go to Maxwell in the event of his passing, provided she outlived him. Maxwell, a wealthy socialite, was among nine individuals slated to receive $5 million each upon Epstein’s demise. The will also allotted the same amount to Karyna Shuliak, reportedly Epstein’s last girlfriend, along with Jean-Luc Brunel, an associate who died in a Paris jail in 2022, and his lawyer Darren Indyke.
The document release this afternoon comprised a fraction of the extensive collection, which includes 180,000 images and 2,000 videos. Notably, being mentioned in the Epstein Files does not imply culpability.
The handling of the documents has come under intense scrutiny, particularly involving members of the Donald Trump administration. Initially, Trump and his campaign allies urged Democrats to release the Epstein Files, but after securing a second term, Trump reversed course and opposed Republicans advocating for their disclosure, surprising many who had supported him with that expectation.
Following legal pressure, the government was compelled to release the documents last year, with only a small portion made public before the recent release. Epstein passed away in a New York City prison cell in 2019.