Jeffrey Epstein signed his last will and testament on August 8 — just two days before he was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Manhattan jail cell.
The New York Post obtained a copy of the will, which shows that Epstein put his assets into a trust named the 1953 Trust, presumably a reference to the year of his birth. The will lists Epstein’s assets at $577,672,654, about $18 million more than what he presented to a judge in an unsuccessful bid to obtain bail and be released on house arrest.
It is unclear from the court documents how Epstein’s assets will be distributed, after expenses and fees for his executors, which the document lists as $250,000 for each. Epstein’s only known heir is his brother Mark Epstein, but the documents reportedly note that Mark would only be entitled to his brother’s assets in the absence of a will.
The will names Darren K. Indyke and Richard E. Kahn as the appointed executors. Their names — Indyke, a lawyer, and Kahn, a CPA — have been found in listings of board members of Epstein’s charities.
The will states that a successor executor, Boris Nikolic, will be appointed if the other executors cannot fulfill the duties. A physician with the same name operates a Boston-based healthcare technology startup. He was previously the chief science and technology advisor to Bill Gates, and remains an investor in multiple scientific endeavors, including Editas Medicine, a biotech company in which Gates and Google also invested.
The Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As CNBC previously reported, Gates and Epstein met in New York in 2013, years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution involving a minor, and registered as a sex offender in New York and Florida. According to the report, Epstein had at one time acted as an “unofficial” advisor to Gates involving philanthropic contributions.
In addition to the will, the New York Post received a copy of Epstein’s death certificate. Dated August 15, the document lists Epstein’s cause of death as “Pending Further Study.” The next day, the New York City Chief Medical Examiner released her finding that Epstein died of suicide by hanging.
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