Jeffrey Epstein (born January 20, 1953 in Coney Island, New York) is an American financier, billionaire and philanthropist and convicted child sex offender.

Epstein was raised in Coney Island and attended Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, New York. He attended classes at Cooper Union from 1969 to 1971 and then at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, leaving without a degree. From 1973 to 1975 he taught calculus and physics at the Dalton School. He then became a trader at Bear Stearns. In 1982 he founded his own financial management firm, J. Epstein and Co. and later called Financial Trust Co., located on his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He reportedly only takes billionaire clients; one client was his mentor and friend Les Wexner who recently hired Dennis Hersch to replace Epstein.

Since all but one of his clients are anonymous, it has been speculated that Epstein's lavish lifestyle is primarily financed by Wexner.