Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Bill Gates. Photo: Nicolas Liponne/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein was a master of maximizing and leveraging proximity to wealth and power. While some of his associates certainly inherited their social status (like Robert Maxwell's daughter Ghislaine and Queen Elizabeth II's son PrinceAndrew), most of the time he went straight to the top of the family tree.
The big picture: After Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in 2008, his friendships with the rich and powerful continued unabated. In fact, his relationship with Bill Gates started in 2011.
- A blockbuster New York Times investigation reveals that Gates and his associates regularly visited Epstein at his mansion in New York. That's in line with what we already knew about Gates flying on Epstein's jet and donating $2 million to MIT at Epstein's behest.
- The NYT obtained a photograph from 2011, showing Gates and Epstein at the latter's mansion, alongside Jes Staley, who was at the time the chief executive of JPMorgan's investment bank. (He's now CEO of Barclays.)
- Gates is accompanied by his then-science adviser, Boris Nikolic (on the far right of the photo), who was so close to Epstein that he was named as a fallback executor of Epstein's estate in his will — a position he has legally resigned.
- Also in the photo is former Treasury Secretary and National Economic Council director Larry Summers, who at the time was expected to become the next Fed chair.
What we know: Epstein prided himself on collecting rich and powerful men like Staley, Summers and Gates. (Also on that list: Apollo CEO Leon Black.) Being well connected helped Epstein maintain his gilded and depraved lifestyle even after his conviction and imprisonment.
What we don't know: Why did the likes of Gates, Summers and Staley willingly consort with Epstein? They must have known they were risking serious reputational damage for themselves and for their institutions. Just imagine the firestorm that would have surrounded the Fed had Summers been chairman when Epstein was arrested earlier this year.
The bottom line: The children of politicians do need jobs in order to navigate life's waters, but people like Summers, Gates and Black do not. They're very big fish who have spent decades avoiding the unwanted attention of unsavory would-be remora.
- When they're discovered swimming with the likes of Epstein, it's entirely reasonable to ask what exactly they were doing — and to keep on asking, repeatedly, even when they decide that their best response is simply stonewalling.