Jeffrey Epstein focused mostly on tech stocks

Newly released documents have revealed Jeffrey Epstein’s investments that contributed to his net worth of nearly $600 million at the time of his death. In-house trader and former JPMorgan private banker Paul Barrett served as the manager of his assets from 2017 to 2019.

At the time of his death in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was worth approximately $600 million. The millionaire was a self-proclaimed financial advisor to billionaires, to whom he offered investment, estate, and tax planning services. 

The then-millionaire banked his wealth with JPMorgan. Paul Barrett, who was a long-serving private banker at JPMorgan, took on the role of Jeffrey Epstein’s main coverage banker for years, even after Epstein pleaded guilty to sex-offense charges in 2008. 

JPMorgan later dropped Epstein as a client in 2013 due to reputational risk. However, Barrett continued to engage with him privately and later left JPM to be Epstein’s manager. “I left a great career at JPM to work with you […] We made a lot of money working together over the years…” Barrett wrote to Epstein later on.

Jeffrey Epstein focused mostly on tech stocks

In 2017, Barrett proposed creating a New York-based family office to manage Epstein’s money directly. He founded Alpha Group Capital, a multi-family office that traded stocks, bonds, derivatives, foreign exchange, and IPOs on Epstein’s behalf. 

Under the advisory agreement, Barrett was granted trading authority across asset classes with defined position limits and was set to earn roughly $500,000 per year. He later claimed a two-year deal worth about $1.1 million.

In an email chain the following year, a senior banker noted that “Paul Barrett manages money for Jeffrey Epstein” and trades “across asset classes”. Epstein was focused on technology stocks and had owned a large stake in Apple for several years, the banker added. 

His portfolio also had shares in Apollo Global Management, a firm closely linked to Epstein through its co-founder Leon Black. In October 2017, Barrett told Epstein that Alpha Group held $8.4 million in stock, with gains of about $3.4 million.  

Barrett also traded currency options, credit derivatives, interest-rate swaps, and bonds, executing trades primarily through Deutsche Bank, where he had limited power of attorney over several Epstein-linked accounts. Barrett pitched trade ideas to Epstein, such as a 2018 proposal to buy $3mn of bonds in the heavily indebted French grocer Casino.

In some instances, Epstein suggested trades to Barrett that he then executed. For instance, in June 2018, he requested to buy 25,000 shares apiece of online car dealership Carvana and Canadian plane manufacturer Bombardier. 

Besides stock markets, Epstein invested in crypto. As reported by Cryptopolitan, Epstein put $3 million into Coinbase in December 2014. The deal came through connections with Brock Pierce, who helped create Tether, and his investment company, Blockchain Capital.

Barrett winds down Epstein-linked firm to join Citigroup

Paul Barrett later acknowledged that profits fell short of expectations. He reported gains of roughly $126,000 early on, about $150,000 in 2018, and around $315,000  between October 2017 and September 2018. “I walked away from all my JPM stock and now my annual compensation is reduced by 66% until I can sign more clients,” Barrett wrote.

These underwhelming results appeared to strain the relationship, with Epstein becoming increasingly unresponsive. Barrett continued to operate on Epstein’s behalf in early 2019. The trader sent a $29,000 invoice for a “monthly management fee” to the financier’s longtime accountant, Richard Kahn, in May 2019.

The partnership effectively unraveled by late 2018, though records suggest Barrett continued operating on Epstein’s behalf into early 2019. Shortly afterward, Barrett accepted a senior role at Citigroup. 

Barrett terminated the SEC registration for Alpha Group the following month, weeks after Epstein died in federal prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In its final statement to the SEC in January 2019, Alpha Group disclosed that it managed $252 million on behalf of 25 high-net-worth individuals. 

Citi later claimed it only became aware of Barrett’s deep involvement with Epstein shortly before terminating him in 2023 due to reputational risk.

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