Ghislaine Maxwell spent the first half of her life with her father, a rags-to-riches billionaire who looted his companies’ pension funds and died …
Ghislaine Maxwell spent the first half of her life with her father, a rags-to-riches billionaire who looted his companies’ pension funds and died mysteriously. She spent the second with another tycoon, Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while charged with sexually abusing teens. After a life of scandal and luxury, Maxwell’s next act will be decided by a U.S. trial. Starting Monday, prosecutors in New York will argue that Maxwell,59, abetted Epstein’s crimes with girls as young as 14. A key question for jurors: Was Maxwell an unwitting pawn of Epstein’s manipulations or a knowing opportunist? Ian Maxwell told The Associated Press his sister is “paying a heavy price, a blood price” to a justice system intent on holding someone responsible for Epstein’s crimes. Ghislaine Maxwell,59, grew up in a 51-room English country mansion where high-society parties were punctuated by trumpeters and fireworks. BBC images from the time show Ghislaine as a child with a kid-size plate of food, learning how to be a master networker. Her father, born Jan Ludvik Hoch, was born to Yiddish-speaking parents in what is now southwestern Ukraine. Escaping the Holocaust, he ultimately joined the British Army and transformed himself into Robert Maxwell. Maxwell built on his military connections to found a publishing empire that ultimately included the British tabloid The Daily Mirror, the New York Daily News and the book publisher Macmillan. He married, fathered nine children, was twice elected to Parliament — and earned a reputation for boorish and bullying behavior. Ghislaine was Maxwell’s youngest, born on Christmas Day 1961. Her 15-year-old brother Michael was severely brain damaged in a car accident just days later. Her mother, Elisabeth Maxwell, wrote in her memoir that their baby daughter was overlooked as a result: A the age of 3, Ghislaine declared, “Mummy, I exist!” “I was devastated,’’ Elisabeth Maxwell wrote.
