Epstein’s Trust Reveals Who Would Inherit His Fortune
[Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.]
Two days before he killed himself in a federal jail, Jeffrey Epstein signed a document that gave away much of his once vast estate, a total of $100 million, to his girlfriend at the time.
In the document, the registered sex offender said he had contemplated marrying his girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, and wanted to give her his 33-carat diamond ring.
A copy of the 32-page document — called the 1953 Trust — was included in the roughly three million pages of investigative files about Mr. Epstein that the Justice Department released on Friday. It is unclear just how much Ms. Shuliak and the other 40 people mentioned as potential beneficiaries will get from his estate, which has shrunk considerably over the past seven years after paying taxes, restitutions to victims and hefty lawyers’ fees.
The trust, named for the year Mr. Epstein was born, had never been made public before.
The document called for Ms. Shuliak, 36, to get a total of $100 million, which included a $50 million annuity to be set up for her benefit. It also provided for her to get much of his property, though the estate has sold most of his residences.
The other two main beneficiaries listed in the trust are Mr. Epstein’s longtime personal lawyer, Darren Indyke, and his in-house accountant, Richard Kahn. The trust provided for Mr. Indyke to get $50 million and for Mr. Kahn to get $25 million. Both men are co-executors of Mr. Epstein’s estate.
Ms. Shuliak, a native of Belarus, appears frequently by name in the documents released by the Justice Department. The filings show she had known Mr. Epstein since at least 2012. Mr. Epstein helped pay for her to go to dental school. She is believed to be living in New York City.
A lawyer for Ms. Shuliak, who is the last person Mr. Epstein called when he was in jail before authorities said he killed himself, was not immediately available for comment. Daniel Weiner, a lawyer for estate, said neither Mr. Indyke nor Mr. Kahn, nor any of the beneficiaries, “will receive any money from that estate unless and until all creditors and claims on the estate have first been satisfied in full, including claims for compensation made by women who suffered abuse at Mr. Epstein’s hands.”
At the time of his death, Mr. Epstein’s estate was valued at around $600 million. A recent court filing valued the estate at $120 million. But the estate could be worth more because several venture capital investments are still valued at the time of his death in 2019.
For more information see Matthew Goldstein “Epstein’s Trust Reveals Who Would Inherit His Fortune,” The New York Times, February 3, 2026.