Details of Epstein's Secret Trust Revealed

Two days before his death in a Manhattan jail, Jeffrey Epstein quietly signed paperwork for a trust that set aside the bulk of his remaining fortune for his then-girlfriend and two longtime insiders, newly released federal records show. The 32-page document, called the 1953 Trust after Epstein's birth year, surfaced in about 3 million pages of Justice Department files made public on Friday, per the New York Times. It directs that $100 million go to his Belarus-born girlfriend, dentist Karyna Shuliak, including a $50 million annuity and rights to much of his property, most of which has since been sold. Epstein wrote that he'd considered marrying Shuliak and wanted her to have his 33-carat diamond ring. She was reportedly the last person he called from behind bars.

Two close associates—lawyer Darren Indyke and in-house accountant Richard Kahn, both co-executors of Epstein's estate—were listed as the other main beneficiaries, slated to receive $50 million and $25 million, respectively, per the Times. Additional beneficiaries included his brother, Mark Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell, later convicted of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse teenage girls; both were designated to receive $10 million. "This is the first I'm hearing of it," Mark Epstein told Business Insider. Harvard mathematician Martin Nowak was also listed for $5 million, per the Times, which notes that some of the 40 or so names are redacted in the public file.

Shuliak's lawyer didn't respond to requests for comment. When Epstein died in 2019, his estate was valued at roughly $600 million; a recent filing put it at about $120 million, though it could be worth more due to some venture capital investments. None of the more than 200 women and girls believed to have been abused by Epstein were named in the trust. Instead, the executors created a restitution fund that paid $121 million to victims, with an additional $49 million paid through settlements. Speaking for the Epstein estate, attorney Daniel Weiner said that no beneficiary named in the trust will receive money "unless and until" all creditor claims—including compensation for victims—are fully resolved.