Jeffrey Epstein wrote a will just two days before his suicide, placing $578 million in assets in a trust, a move which could complicate efforts to collect damages by women who say he sexually abused them.
By placing all of his assets in a trust, Epstein could shield their distribution from the public. He asked that Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn be appointed as executors, according to a copy of the will filed Aug. 15 with the court in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Epstein, a financier and convicted pedophile, was in jail awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and trafficking minors for sex. He hanged himself Aug. 10 in a federal jail cell in Manhattan, a death the city medical examiner determined was a suicide. The will and assets list were first reported Monday by the New York Post.
Boris Nikolic, a biotech venture capitalist who was part of a circle of scientists Epstein cultivated, was named as a backup executor should the others be unable to serve. He said Monday night he was “shocked” to be named in the will.
“I was not consulted in these matters and I have no intent to fulfill these duties, whatsoever,” Nikolic said in an emailed statement.
Epstein’s real estate -- from his New Mexico ranch to his Manhattan mansion and private Caribbean islands -- is held through various entities laid out in the will. The assets listed are similar to those in Epstein’s unsuccessful bail request after his July 6 arrest.
The valuation does not include his extensive art collection, which is subject to appraisal, according to the document.
Epstein pleaded guilty more than a decade ago to state prostitution charges in Florida, admitting to soliciting an underage girl. Epstein’s estate is expected to face many lawsuits by women who claim he abused them when they were children.
It’s possible that Epstein may not have had time to take all the necessary legal steps needed to transfer each of his assets to the trust, said Bruce Steiner, an estate attorney.
“It would be hard to transfer it that quickly,” Steiner said. “If he didn’t transfer the assets into the trust before he died, then the victims can simply go after the executors of his estate. Then it doesn’t matter who the estate goes to.”