How did the late Jeffrey Epstein make his fortune, which was valued at $500 million when he died in July 2019 under disputed circumstances in a Manhattan jail cell?

No one is completely sure how Epstein went from being middle-class to becoming one of the most wealthy people around.

One theory is that Epstein’s money came from the late U.K. media mogul Robert Maxwell, father of Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

An insider gave lawyers sworn testimony saying Epstein was secretly bankrolled by his ex’s dad, according to The Sun. Model scout and Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel exposed Maxwell’s ties to Epstein nearly 20 years ago, the Daily Mail reported.

A convicted pedophile, Epstein died while awaiting trial on new charges of sexually exploiting underage women. He amassed a huge fortune with properties around the world, including an Upper East Side Manhattan mansion and a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Known as a private getaway for the rich and famous, the island was known as Pedophile Island.

Maxwell stole hundreds of millions from his company’s pension funds before his 1991 death, New York Post reported. He was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean after being on his yacht The Lady Ghislaine, named after his daughter.

Not long after her father’s death, Ghislaine Maxwell fled to New York City and became closely associated with Epstein. She was arrested earlier this year for allegedly being his madam, helping procure and groom girls as young as age 14 for him.

“Jean-Luc was telling (acquaintances) how Ghislaine’s father, Robert Maxwell, was one of the reasons why Jeffrey Epstein had money,” a former close associate told The Sun. “He said Maxwell had been one of Epstein’s early investment clients. I assumed that Maxwell had invested in Epstein, who then used that money to make his own.”

A former Wall Street trader, Epstein founded his own money management firm in the 1980s, managing the assets of clients with more than $1billion including Victoria’s Secret owner Les Wexner.

Maxwell’s arrest shone a spotlight on her family history, which included “scandal, conspiracy and more than a few days in court,” Times of Israel reported. Robert Maxwell has been suspected of working for British, Israeli and Soviet secret services.

Robert Maxwell was born in Czechoslovakia to Jewish parents who were be killed by the Nazis. He came to Britain penniless at age 16 and changed his name from Jan Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.

He built one of the biggest media empires in the world, employing 16,000 people in the 1980s at companies including Britain’s Mirror Group Newspapers, U.S. publishers Macmillan and Berlitz language schools.

When he died, Robert Maxwell was buried on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives, an ancient Jewish cemetery and site of Christian worship and pilgrimage. Israeli intelligence figures attended the funeral including then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who eulogized him, saying that Robert Maxwell “has done more for Israel than can today be said,” Times of Israel reported.

Two of Maxwell’s sons, Ian and Kevin, were acquitted of fraudulent misuse of pension fund assets in January 1996 after a 130-day trial.