It pushes the extreme limits of credibility. It would be a decades-long-running blackmail scheme, involving hundreds of millions of dollars. With dozens of people involved. Overseen by accountants.
It's just a bit too "made for TV movie". This story is under a microscope. If there was a conspiracy that elaborate, it would have come out by now.
I could be proven wrong, but I'm betting on "rich creep who thinks he can buy everything" rather than secret-society mastermind pulling puppet-strings.
Well, a lot of things about this push the limits of credibility - if you were an author who told me about Epstein in a novel ('private sex island', 'hangs around with royalty and famous scientists') I'd say you're overdoing it. Have a look at:
Anyone with enough money and libido can buy property and staff it with prostitutes. Anyone offering enough grant money can hang out with famous scientists. I don't see why that is hard to believe.
That article can be summarized as: "We don't know where he got his money from, therefore let's speculate". It's good entertainment, but reality is usually pretty mundane. It's easier to believe Hoffenberg's claim that Epstein made off with the proceeds of the Tower Financial ponzi scheme. But that too seems heavily investigated already.
It's just a bit too "made for TV movie". This story is under a microscope. If there was a conspiracy that elaborate, it would have come out by now.
I could be proven wrong, but I'm betting on "rich creep who thinks he can buy everything" rather than secret-society mastermind pulling puppet-strings.