Jeffrey Epstein made millions of dollars after the U.S. Justice Department settled an investigation into Switzerland-based private bank Edmond de Rothschild Group in 2015.

The institution, founded by the French branch of the storied centuries-old Rothschild banking dynasty, was the subject of a Justice Department probe under the Obama administration into whether it had helped wealthy U.S. citizens evade taxes.

Epstein, according to a Miami Herald review of records released by the Justice Department, had consulted for the bank and one of its owners, Baroness Ariane de Rothschild, on this issue.

He was paid $25 million for consulting on “strategic business matters” and “estate planning” in December 2015 after the Justice Department settled with the bank, two business agreements and wire transfers show. The agreements ⁠— made with Epstein’s Southern Trust Company ⁠— were signed by executives of the Swiss bank and de Rothschild.

While the agreements do not spell out the details of the work Epstein did for the Rothschilds, an earlier draft of the documents reveals more information, the Herald found.

Epstein’s remuneration, according to the draft, was on a sliding scale: He would be paid $10 million if the Justice Department imposed a penalty that was between $75 million to $150 million. If the penalty was less than $75 million, Epstein’s compensation would be $25 million.

The Justice Department settled on $45 million and agreed to not prosecute the bank, triggering the $25 million fees to Epstein.

The settlement was one among 75 agreements the agency finalized that year as part of a program for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States.

The Justice Department did not comment.

As questions have swirled about how the disgraced financier made his fortune, Epstein’s relationship with the Rothschilds provides insight into how he was a master at cultivating connections that were both financially lucrative and enabled his access to the global elite.

Epstein’s role in the bank’s deal with federal prosecutors in the United States was just one example of the relationship he had with the storied European family.

The baroness discussed with him internal family issues and her health problems. Epstein offered his advice on how she could consolidate her power within her family and secure her and her daughters’ futures. He guided her through a restructuring of the bank and offered his encouragement and support when she expressed doubts about her abilities or told him that she was exhausted from dealing with the pressure.

“[It] kills me to see you spending … your amazing talents as part of the working class,” Epstein wrote in a Dec. 13, 2017, email to de Rothschild, whose family’s net worth is several billion dollars. “I am always there for you.”

A spokesperson for the Edmond de Rothschild Group said the baroness had “no knowledge whatsoever” of Epstein’s illicit activities and that she “unequivocally condemns such behavior and the crimes of which he is guilty.” He said she “expresses her sincere compassion” his victims.

“Mr. Epstein sought to give his opinion or advice or even make suggestions, most of the time unsolicited, to Ms. de Rothschild as he did with many of his interlocutors,” the spokesperson said. “This in no way implies that Ms. de Rothschild followed all his advice . . . It was clearly the manipulative method of Mr. Epstein to promote his ideas and projects. And to try in this way to put himself at the center of the game.”

Epstein’s guiding hand

Epstein, according to the spokesperson, was introduced to de Rothschild by Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen. He did not say when that meeting occurred.

Epstein and de Rothschild’s correspondence, the records show, dates back to at least 2013 — five years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor and had to register as a sex offender.

They regularly exchanged messages and calls and invited each other to their homes for dinner. The baroness gave Epstein interior design tips and picked out antique furniture and vases worth more than $500,000 for the financier to buy for his properties.

Epstein helped one of her daughters with her college applications, showed her around New York and secured her an appointment at the glamorous New York salon owned by his associate, celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai.

The period was a rocky one for the Rothschild family.

Besides federal prosecutors in the United States, the bank was also probed by authorities in the country of Luxembourg for the institution’s alleged role in the $4.5 billion 1MDB scandal — a global embezzlement, bribery and money laundering scheme involving Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. (The bank became the first ever to be convicted in Luxembourg for money laundering and paid roughly $28.5 million as a penalty last year.)

De Rothschild and her husband, Benjamin, were also in the midst of a battle with Benjamin’s cousin, David de Rothschild, regarding who could use the family name for their businesses.

Epstein acted as Ariane de Rothschild’s confidant and guide throughout this tumultuous time, the records show.

He characterized the bank as a supertanker that needed good leadership to navigate through stormy seas. He encouraged de Rothschild to restructure the institution and consolidate her power internally, even suggesting she push out her husband, with whom she shared a difficult relationship.

Benjamin de Rothschild handed over control of the bank to his wife in early 2015.

“[I]f you need help paying for a divorce attny and battle, ill be there [sic.]”, Epstein wrote to her on May 4, 2015. The baroness thanked him for his kindness.

Later that year, as negotiations culminated between the Justice Department and the bank, de Rothschild wrote again to the financier: “$45 mio [million]?”

Epstein replied saying that she would find total expenses of $80 million — including the penalty, legal fees and his remuneration — to settle the investigation to be a “pretty good” deal.

“[A] giant thk u [sic.]!,” de Rothschild replied. “I’m relieved that it’s settled and over.”

Epstein also encouraged de Rothschild to explore potential mergers with two other Swiss banking giants — UBS in 2015 and Julius Baer two years later. Neither of those two deals came to fruition.

Epstein and the baroness continued corresponding into 2019, the records show.

FBI officials arrested Epstein on federal sex-trafficking charges on July 6, 2019. He was found dead in federal custody in New York roughly a month later.

De Rothschild’s husband, Benjamin, died of a heart attack in 2021.

French authorities raided the bank’s Paris offices last month as part of an investigation related to Epstein’s activities.

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