Leaked documents indicate that Shuliak was the last person Epstein spoke to by phone hours before his alleged suicide in prison. It also emerged that Epstein had amended his legal will just two days before his death, in a seemingly deliberate move to ensure the young dentist received the largest share of his remaining fortune.
Despite their close association, US federal authorities did not include Shuliak among those involved or complicit in Epstein’s sex crimes. She also never described herself as a victim of his practices, nor was she subjected to formal interrogations by the FBI or the victims’ lawyers pursuing Epstein’s estate.
One of the neat things about billionaires dying it is makes a whole lot of new rich people who might not be the kind of total monster someone has to be to acquire billions of dollars. Food for thought.
Once in a blue moon a decent person does manage to acquire that level of wealth. Usually it’s because they obtain it suddenly. They create a company or app that becomes huge simply due to the innovativeness of it. They become rich because they came up with one very lucky good idea, rather than from years of ruthlessly exploiting workers and customers.
The example I have in mind? This guy right here:
You know who that is? It’s Tom from MySpace. He created MySpace and then sold it for $580 million. Not sure if he’s actually a billionaire currently, but he would be even if he just stuck his winnings in an index fund.
Since selling MySpace, he’s basically just been living the dream. He’s been doing exactly what I think most people who aren’t complete psychopaths would do if you handed them that kind of money. He sold MySpace and just immediately retired. Musk, in contrast, got $180 million from the Paypal sale, decided a sustainable $5 million a year wasn’t enough, and used his earnings from that to make even more money.
Tom’s been retired since 2005. He retired at 35. Since then, he’s just been hanging out with friends and family, traveling the world, and pursuing his passions like photography. He’ll gather a big group of friends and pay for all their airfare and hotel stays at some exotic location where he can practice his photography. He’ll do that, pay for everything, and ask for nothing in return.
He honestly sounds like a pretty decent human being. Maybe ideally he would give away a bit more of his money to charity, but at least he’s not actively using his fortune for evil. He’s not a private equity ghoul. His greed is clearly not infinite. He’s not trying to buy politicians and rule the world. He seems like someone that just genuinely enjoys life, living, and the company of good people.
So in some rare circumstances, a good person can become a billionaire. But you pretty much have to earn it by winning a literal or metaphorical lottery. If you want to earn it slowly by building up a business, you either have to be a monster, or you will become one in the process.
But Tom? He just won the lottery and fucked off before the power could corrupt him. And that is what has saved his soul. Hell, just look how happy that guy looks!
Normally get rich quick schemes are the purview of unethical people. But with billionaires, the opposite is the case. The only ones that aren’t complete monsters are those that make their money quick, decide they have more than they will ever need, and immediately retire.
And if they are still monsters, dilution is still a solution.
There’s the slogan: Dilution is the solution!