Who is Ghislaine Maxwell, the dark socialite who keeps the secrets of Jeffrey Epstein
The alleged accomplice in illicit business of the suicidal billionaire had disappeared into thin air, but now the newspapers that once belonged to her very rich father have found her ...
The Epstein scandal spreads like an oil stain on the sea, leaking from the engine of a yacht. The luxurious metaphor is not accidental because, as it expands, the stain includes new names. The latest is that of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was practically an unknown outside the US but she is becoming recognizable all over the world, in the least desirable way she could hope for: she is complicit in having organized a child prostitution ring. When in 2008 the 66-year-old billionaire financier Jeffery Epstein was first convicted of sexual harassment of 36 14-year-old girls (which seems to be becoming too widespread in the US) and exploitation of child prostitution, he served 13 months in custody with permission. to continue working. But the punishment must not have been proportional to the offense because on July 6, 2019, Epstein was again arrested on charges of child trafficking in Florida and New York. And we all know how it ended: a suicide in a cell on which investigations are underway.
The first name to be involved in the bad story is that of the President of the United States Donald Trump, because he was a good friend of Epstein and their smiling photos together, today are nothing short of embarrassing. Then that of Bill Clinton, of which the legend has begun to circulate these days according to which in the house of the dead billionaire there is a painting that portrays him dressed as a woman. Trump supporters and the Clintons are grappling with a back and forth in which one accuses the other of having Epstein killed by simulating suicide, to cover up compromising secrets involving the president and the former president. Then the name of Prince Andrew came up, a beautiful cat to peel for the English Crown, who has always had to deal with the sexual appetites of the Queen's favorite. And finally, less sensational but which will prove decisive, the name of Ghislaine Maxwell who, now that the main suspect is dead, has become the key figure in the story. But who is Ghislaine Maxwell? What does it have to do with the alleged trafficking of underage prostitutes that is monopolizing the American press?
To understand this, we need to start from the previous generation by summarizing the life of her father, Robert Maxwell. Raised in poverty in Czechoslovakia, Maxwell fled the Nazis during World War II and found shelter in England, where he took citizenship. He had fought in the British army, had been decorated and made a fortune in publishing after the war. In 1960 he was the owner of the group that publishes famous newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Mirror. He married the French Betty Meynard and had nine children with her. He became a member of the UK parliament, completing the climb that every ambitious man aspires to, one of wealth and power. And he exhibited both, touring in a helicopter and vacationing on the yacht he had named Ghislaine, in honor of his favorite daughter, his youngest, who will end up working with him.
Ghislaine Maxwell, born in 1961, was born a few days after her older brother Michael was involved in a car accident - the driver fell asleep at the wheel - ending up in a coma from which he would never come out until he died, 15 years after. It is easy to imagine the attachment of two parents to a child born in such circumstances. Her father has developed a relationship with her that many have defined "almost morbid", always keeping her with him and preventing her, once a teenager, from dating. Despite this, in the 80s Ghislaine was one of the liveliest characters in 80s London. She worked in one of her father's newspapers but also founded a famous club, the Kit-Kat Club, adapting to her father's aggressive type of business and supporting him. even in business, it will be discovered later, at the limit of the lawful. When her father Robert buys the New York Daily News, he entrusts it to her. But she did not move permanently to the United States until 1991, when Robert Maxwell was found drowned in the Canary Islands, a short distance from the yacht that bears the name of her daughter. Death is certified as suicide. Ghislaine will always reject this theory by claiming that her father was murdered. In the meantime, it turns out that Maxewell senior had fraudulently appropriated the Mirror's pension funds, about 480 million euros. The posthumous reputation of the former British member of parliament plummets and the heirs are sentenced to reimburse 32,000 people robbed by their father.
Ghislaine Maxwell travels to New York on the luxurious Concorde plane, causing outrage in British public opinion where the pension scandal is still alive. She moves into a house overlooking Central Park and works in the real estate business. You are dating Ivana Trump, the first wife of the future president. Most importantly, she has a romantic relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, she met her a year before her, which will last 7 years. They continued dating afterwards, but even the people in their circle were never able to fully understand what kind of friendship they were carrying on. It is clear, however, that Maxwell was carrying out the same tasks of trust for the billionaire that her father entrusted to her, especially the hiring of new collaborators. She is the one who introduces Prince Andrew to Epstein’s friendships which, in addition to Bill Clinton, also includes Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer who got O.J. Simpson from the murder charge. In 2015 the case of Virginia Giuffre emerges, a girl who accuses Ghislaine Maxwell of having recruited her as a prostitute, in 1999, to have sex with Jeffrey Epstein. It is the beginning of the disaster.
The girl, who during the trial is identified with a false name to protect her, says she was also educated by Maxwell, with real lessons, on Epstein's sexual preferences. Maxwell denies all the girl's accusations, who instead explains to investigators how the socialite directed a trafficking of minors who prostituted themselves during the parties held at Epstein's home in New Mexico. The two sue each other for defamation but Giuffre wins, and Maxwell is sentenced to pay her a millionaire compensation. After that, Ghislaine sells her New York home for $ 15 million and disappears into thin air. Even her lawyer is no longer able to provide investigators with her new address, which she assumes is in London. But in the meantime, other girls come forward with the accusations that make America shiver today.
Instead, Ghislaine Maxwell appears to have never left the United States. But not too much from the areas she frequented. The Daily Mail, once owned by her family, has published photos of a colonial mansion in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, where she is supposedly holed up. She does not appear in her photos but her neighbors, now that Maxwell's face is better known, recognized her while she was walking her dog. And as reported by The Cut, one of the sources describes her standard of living as that of “someone who is always at home, the antithesis of the woman who has traveled a lot and constantly celebrated with Epstein.” The FBI has mobilized but only found Scott Borgerson, 43, a technology CEO referred to as the fugitive's current mate, who said he was surprised to find the police waiting for him. "She doesn't live here, I have no idea where she is," Borgerson said, denying that he is still in a relationship with her. It's as if Ghislaine Maxwell had become radioactive and no one wanted to be near her anymore. But the neighbors swear they saw her living there up to 15 days ago. The circle around her. is tightening.
