The Epstein Equation
It's not unsolvable. And it IS inevitable.
For two years in the late 1970s, Jeffrey Epstein taught math at the prestigious Dalton School in Manhattan, despite not having a college degree. The unusual arrangement was approved by headmaster Donald Barr (father to future Attorney General Bill Barr). It’s a curious thing, and a story for another time, but for now, let’s focus on the math.
At the time of his death in 2019, Epstein’s wealth was estimated at $600 million. But there’s never been a satisfactory answer to the question: “How did he make his money? What did he actually do?”
As more comes out about his elaborate sex trafficking operation, the subject of money keeps coming up as well. Congress is currently investigating his complex finances.
I’m not the smartest person, but I would bet that he employed a tactic as old as time: blackmail.
Epstein was known for having cameras all over his properties. All it would take would be inviting a well-connected pal to a party where temptations would arise. A few days later, a few photos are sent with a discreet “offer” to do some business. And it builds from there, both his little black book and his bank account.
Money is currency, but in the case of wealthy people, it’s also leverage and protection from exposure. As more powerful names arise in the Epstein story, it’s clear that their cushy little world gave them free access to indulge in their perversions, plus access to discreet sources of dark money.
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, “The rich are different from you and me.” The Epstein saga is showing that in particularly disgusting detail. But there’s a bigger picture, and that is the soul-deep corruption associated with obscene levels of wealth.
In 2025, the top 10 billionaires in America saw their wealth increase by nearly 700 billion.
In the same period, the Joint Economic Committee reports that the average family is paying at least $700 more each month to live. We’re seeing food banks stretched to the limit.
Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, who dropped $50 million on his wedding this year, is laying off thousands of people at Amazon.
Starbucks workers are on strike for a more equitable deal, even as their CEO makes $96 million a year (an hourly rate that is orders of magnitude higher than that of the average barista).
Even as SNAP food benefits were being ended for millions of Americans, Trump threw a lavish party at Mar-a-Lago, complete with seafood towers of crab, lobster, and shrimp.
This is some Versailles-level sh*t.
And, like Versailles, excessive wealth has been both the ticket for the powerful to indulge in every dark impulse and the tool to shield them from the consequences.
I think the Epstein Saga will prove to be a tipping point. Outside of the disgusting criminal acts against kids, the extreme web of wealth that has shielded the perpetrators at every turn is unsustainable.
With stark bread lines contrasting with luxurious Mar-a-Lago feasts and a gold-covered Oval Office, people are angry.
With rich, powerful men given cover to hurt children, the rage is set to boil over.
Once the criminality is exposed and addressed, the obscene wealth that allowed and protected it is sure to be next. We’ve seen it throughout history.
As a math teacher, Epstein should’ve seen this historic equation coming: