“Narcotizing” explains the effect of new media (aka interactive, online media) on how we process information. It states that, due to the immense amount of information that we are exposed to every day, most of it horrifying or shocking, we become more and more apathetic. Instead of taking action, the extent of our participation is limited to collecting superficial information on a topic.
This principle is essentially how the Trump administration keeps the Epstein Files from ever being the only headline; from bombing girls’ schools in Iran, to visits with Xi Jinping, to starting to build a 250-foot arch (the tallest in the world) for America’s 250th anniversary. Not to mention the ballroom, the attacks on Gaza and the West Bank, military deals with Palantir, and more.
Everybody knows to some extent about Epstein’s web of millionaires, princes, presidents, and businessmen. Anybody who was anybody in the 90’s to 2010’s was on his island, visited his Upper East Side townhouse, his Paris apartment, etc. His “primary legitimate” business, according to A More Perfect Union, was financial management for the ultra-wealthy. Essentially, he would manage their assets and skim some off the top for himself. This is how Epstein became connected with a large portion of the wealthiest people on the planet.
Epstein helped one of his clients, Leon Black, the former head of Apollo (a high-end investment company) avoid over $1 billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) in taxes by relocating his wealth to “charitable organizations”, purchasing art and cars worth millions, some of which Epstein kept. Black’s son, Benjamin Black, is now the chief executive officer for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC), a federal agency using taxpayer dollars to fund American venture capital initiatives worldwide. USIDFC which was established during the first Trump Administration. Benjamin Black also worked at Goldman & Sachs, an investment bank where Kathy Ruemmler, close friend of Epstein’s, worked when not serving in the Obama Administration.
Epstein also helped Peter Attia, author of the #1 NYT Bestseller Outlive. Attia admitted recently he had been to see Epstein “‘approximately seven or eight occasions at his New York City home’” to discuss research studies…(Gardener & Kaufman, 2026).” Epstein would introduce him models, as well as scientists and world leaders who would platform Attia’s medical research. Attia continued to email with Epstein far after his multiple convictions, up until his final arrest in spring of 2019.
One of Epstein’s most notable associates, Ghislaine Maxwell, has taken Epstein’s place in bearing his fall. Maxwell was arrested in 2020 for her ties to Epstein. However, she has had an extremely cushy prison experience, requesting customized meals, unlimited toilet paper, and spending time with her puppy despite previous restrictions. According to the Netflix docuseries, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, Maxwell was his aid in procuring the young girls he and his entourage abused. Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell, owned many publishing companies, as well as being close with the former Israeli prime minister. Epstein’s connection to the Maxwells likely opened doors for Epstein’s interference international politics, such former Israeli PM Barack Ehud, as well as other Middle Eastern leaders. According to Le Monde, “Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the 70-year-old head of the global logistics giant Dubai Port World (DP World), was abruptly toppled from his pedestal,” following numerous mentions in the Epstein files.
The Files revealed that Terje Rød-Larsen Mona Yuul, key architects for the Oslo Accords, which were signed between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel, were heavily involved with Epstein, according to former UN member Craig Mokhiber in an interview with Aljazeera in 2026.
Alan Dershowitz, former Harvard professor as well as both Trump and Epstein’s lawyer, called for immunity for Ghislaine Maxwell. He is also mentioned in the Epstein Files numerous times; (Exhibit A in Epstein’s deposition) “[o]ne such powerful individual that Epstein forced then-minor Jane Doe #3 to have sexual relations with was former Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, a close friend of Epstein’s….” Dershowitz stated that “immunity… would compel her to testify (Fortinsky, 2025).” Maxwell has not received immunity but is tried to appeal her conviction, which court denied to hear in October of 2025.
Billionaire and current secretary of commerce Howard Lutnik described Epstein as the greatest blackmailer of all time. Lutnik and Epstein were neighbors in NYC, and has denied any visits, although they have already been proven in numerous photos.
16-time nominee for the Academy Awards’ “Best Original Screenplay” Woody Allen is also prominently featured in the Files, appearing over 7,000 times. As a 2026 video from Volksgeist states; “Prominent, powerful people knew exactly who [Epstein] was and what he had done, and then they stayed in his circle anyway.” This has led to the idea of the “Epstein Class”. Billionaires, inventors, scientists, people with immense cultural capital and influence. The people who control our politics and culture are the same people paying visits to their close friend Epstein long after he was a known sex offender.
Epstein wasn’t an “evil genius” by any means. He got away with everything because he knew the right people and played the right cards, and most importantly was owed by some of the most powerful people in the world, from the United Arab Emirates to the United States. Epstein rose to prominence through manipulation, coercion, and connections. According to Courthouse News; “Epstein’s financial statement self-reported more than $559 million in total assets, comprised of more than $56 million in cash, $14 million in fixed income, $112 million in equities, $194 million in hedge funds and private equities and the remainder in real estate.”
While many images in the Files contain blacked-out pictures of young girls arm-in-arm with the most powerful men in the world, most of them are pretty mundane. Most emails discuss finances, approval ratings, press conferences, and pop-culture references such as Lena Dunham’s Girls or George Lucas’ Star Wars. Epstein and the Epstein Class as a whole have shaped the world as it is today. Because of this massive sphere of influence, from politics (endorsing Brexit) to pop culture, to inventions (early investments in OpenAI) nobody in the Files will ever face punishment.
(Photos courtesy of the Epstein Files; credits redacted for anonymity.)
Sources:
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (Netflix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDZFbJUgqDw&list=WL&index=15&t=332s .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOW-7mCsutg&list=WL&index=26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNkSNt7qIOw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXEQIEYIvxQ&list=WL&index=9
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/21/politics/trump-arch-commission-of-fine-arts
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/16/jeffrey-epstein-peter-attia-model-00824117
https://journaliststudio.google.com/pinpoint/search?collection=061ce61c9e70bdfd&docid=f2cd5ccd73c382b7_061ce61c9e70bdfd&p=1 (AKA the Epstein Files unblocked)
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/12/jeffrey-epstein-french-elites-moral-courage
https://www.vanityfair.fr/article/mail-melania-trump-ghislaine-maxwell-epstein
https://www.courthousenews.com/epstein-memos-shine-light-on-decoy-passport-murky-assets/
https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2026/2/10/the-take-jeffrey-epsteins-one-single-cause-israel
