When Jeffrey Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, he left behind one of the most complicated and controversial fortunes in America.

His assets were valued at roughly $630 million. They included hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and investments, a massive Manhattan townhouse, a Palm Beach mansion, a Paris apartment, a nearly 10,000-acre New Mexico ranch, two private islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands, private aircraft, jewelry and other valuable property.

Just two days before his death, Epstein signed a new estate plan known as the "1953 Trust." The document laid out more than $330 million in cash bequests to more than 40 beneficiaries, along with instructions for distributing his homes, diamonds and other possessions.

The largest intended beneficiary was not his brother. It was not one of his longtime business associates. And it was not Ghislaine Maxwell.

It was Karyna Shuliak, a Belarusian-born dentist who had been Epstein's girlfriend for nearly eight years and was the last known person he called before his death.

Epstein intended to leave Shuliak as much as $100 million, his most valuable properties and a 32.73-carat diamond ring that he said had been given to her "in contemplation of marriage."

There is just one problem:

Epstein's estate no longer has anywhere close to enough money to fulfill those instructions.

The most recent detailed public accounting covers the period ending September 30, 2025. At that point, Epstein's estate held:

• $45.3 million in cash
• $78.6 million through entities owned by Epstein
• $3.4 million in loans receivable
• A small amount of separately appraised jewelry and watches

That produced a total estate value of exactly $127,402,426.84.

However, that does not mean $127.4 million is ready to be divided among Epstein's heirs. The accounting listed unresolved victim claims, undetermined estate and inheritance taxes, possible gift-tax liabilities and $1.6 million in unpaid professional fees.

The estate also agreed to another settlement that could pay Epstein's victims as much as $35 million. A federal judge granted preliminary approval in March 2026, with a final approval hearing scheduled for September 16, 2026.

Should that settlement receive final approval and be paid from the estate, the amount remaining could fall below $100 million before additional taxes, fees and claims are resolved.

The New York Times placed the estate's current value within a broader range of $120 million to $200 million. But the latest precise figure disclosed in the Virgin Islands probate case is $127.4 million.

The disappearance of nearly $500 million does not involve a single mysterious transaction. Epstein's fortune has been consumed by a combination of victim compensation, government settlements, taxes, legal expenses and estate-administration costs.

The Epstein Victims' Compensation Program received around 225 applications. Approximately 150 people were deemed eligible, and 136 accepted awards totaling about $125 million. Individual payments ranged from the low hundreds of thousands of dollars to several million dollars.

In 2022, the estate reached a separate settlement with the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The agreement required the estate to pay $105 million in cash, $450,000 for environmental remediation and half of the proceeds attributable to the sale of Little Saint James, Epstein's primary private island. The Virgin Islands government also said the agreement would return more than $80 million in economic-development tax benefits that Epstein and his companies had obtained.

Epstein's properties were gradually sold to generate cash.

His enormous Upper East Side townhouse sold for $51 million. His Palm Beach home sold for $18.5 million and was later demolished. Little Saint James and neighboring Great Saint James were sold together for $60 million. His New Mexico ranch and Paris apartment were also eventually sold.

Those sales did not, by themselves, reduce the estate's value. They converted real estate into cash. But much of that cash was then used to pay victims, governments, taxes, creditors, attorneys and other expenses.

Karyna Shuliak moved from Belarus to New York in 2010 on a temporary student visa. She was working as a dental assistant and trying to continue the dental education she had begun in Belarus when she met Epstein in March 2011.

She was 21. Epstein was 58.

Their introduction initially followed a pattern similar to Epstein's encounters with other young women. He offered gifts, travel and financial assistance. Shuliak initially resisted his help and confronted him about information she had read concerning his criminal history.

She eventually entered into a long-term relationship with him.

Epstein helped Shuliak gain admission to Columbia University's dental school, paid her tuition and supported her financially. He sent nearly $1 million to her over the course of their relationship and also provided money to her parents in Belarus.

By the final years of Epstein's life, Shuliak was doing more than traveling with him. She helped manage his properties, employees, repairs and household operations. She was living primarily in his Manhattan townhouse shortly before his arrest.

Federal authorities have not identified Shuliak as a co-conspirator. She has not publicly identified herself as one of Epstein's victims, and there is no indication that the FBI interviewed her or that attorneys representing Epstein's victims deposed her.

Under the 1953 Trust, Shuliak was positioned to receive:

• $50 million immediately
• Another $50 million through an annuity
• The Manhattan townhouse
• The Palm Beach mansion
• The Paris apartment
• The New Mexico ranch
• Little Saint James
• Great Saint James
• A 32.73-carat diamond ring
• Forty-eight loose diamonds

In a handwritten note, Epstein described the large ring as having been given to Shuliak "in contemplation of marriage." The trust said she could retain the diamonds even if the marriage never occurred.

Had Epstein's original plan been carried out while all of those properties were still owned by his estate, Shuliak's inheritance could easily have exceeded $100 million.

But the properties have been sold, and the estate's remaining assets are nowhere near sufficient to satisfy all the promised bequests.

Epstein's longtime personal attorney, Darren Indyke, was promised $50 million. His accountant, Richard Kahn, was promised $25 million. Indyke and Kahn also serve as the estate's co-executors and were Epstein's preferred trustees.

Other intended beneficiaries included:

• Ghislaine Maxwell: $10 million
• Mark Epstein's children: $10 million held in trust
• Larry Visoski, Epstein's longtime pilot: $10 million
• Cecile de Jongh, a former Virgin Islands first lady who worked for Epstein: $1 million
• Seven unnamed beneficiaries: Between $3 million and $10 million each
• Various employees, pilots, household workers and academics: Smaller individual bequests

Some beneficiary names remain redacted. Being named in the trust does not establish that any beneficiary participated in or knew about Epstein's criminal conduct.

Altogether, the final trust contained more than $330 million in cash bequests, even before counting the properties and diamonds.

No beneficiary is entitled to collect until the estate has paid its creditors, taxes, victim claims, settlements and administrative expenses.

That means the numbers written in Epstein's trust are not guaranteed payouts.

Consider the three largest cash beneficiaries alone:

• Karyna Shuliak: $100 million
• Darren Indyke: $50 million
• Richard Kahn: $25 million

That is $175 million—nearly $48 million more than the estate held in its latest public accounting. And that calculation does not include Maxwell, Mark Epstein's children, the pilot, the unnamed beneficiaries or any of the smaller bequests.

It also does not subtract the proposed $35 million victim settlement or other unresolved obligations.

The trust documents place Shuliak, Indyke and Kahn near the front of the distribution sequence. That makes Shuliak the most likely person to receive the largest individual inheritance. But it is extremely unlikely that she will receive the entire $100 million, all of the promised property value and the diamonds while every other beneficiary is also paid in full.

The final amount will depend on how much remains after the estate's legal affairs are resolved, how the trust's priority provisions are interpreted and whether any beneficiaries renounce or lose their interests.

Epstein once intended to distribute a $630 million fortune.

After seven years of compensation payments, government settlements, taxes, property sales and litigation, the final inheritance pool may ultimately be worth less than $100 million.

And even then, much of it could remain tied up in court for years.