Edmond de Rothschild Group was in trouble. It was the end of 2015 and, after months of turmoil, the Swiss private bank owned by a branch of the Rothschild dynasty was closing in on a multimillion-dollar settlement with the US Department of Justice for its part in helping rich Americans hide their assets.
Behind the scenes, the group’s French chief, Ariane de Rothschild, had tasked Jeffrey Epstein and the lawyer he had introduced her to, Kathy Ruemmler, with closing the deal.
“45 mio [million]?” de Rothschild asked Epstein in a December 2015 email exchange. He replied that, counting a $10mn fee for the lawyers involved and $25mn for him, “I think you will find that . . . all less than 80 pretty good”. “Deep thks for your amazing help,” de Rothschild answered.