In reporting on Jeffrey Epstein I've been able to speak to a few different people who had firsthand experiences with him. (I also reported this week on how he managed to circumvent Harvard's rule against accepting money from him.) Common threads include his easy charm and the way in which he went out of his way to show concern for others.
Why it matters: Epstein is an extreme case, but charming sociopaths in general tend to do very well in business.
The intrigue: As detailed by investment banker and pseudonymous blogger The Epicurean Dealmaker in the wake of the financial crisis, most if not all senior investment bankers exhibit "a very substantial number of the commonly accepted markers for psychopathy."
These include superficial charm, manipulativeness, lack of empathy, poor judgment and the inability to distinguish right from wrong.
"Sexually deviant lifestyle" and "promiscuous sexual behavior" are also on the list.
A picture tells a thousand words: In one photograph that has been doing the rounds in recent weeks, Epstein smiles genuinely at Larry Summers, who is wearing his trademark rictus. The photo shows how good Epstein was at putting people at ease — very, very few people can appear so loose and relaxed around Summers in particular.
By the time he was arrested on sex trafficking charges earlier this year, Epstein had amassed a fortune of more than $500 million — even after decades of lavish spending and despite the fact that he never even got a college degree.
The bottom line: Capitalism often looks as though it has been designed to reward its most malign actors.
