As a fund to compensate hundreds of victims of serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is concluding its claims process after awarding more than $120m, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of his victims re-opened the can of worms – this time by suing Prince Andrew in federal court in New York.
As the world now knows, mostly after the screening of the docuseries Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich on Netflix, Epstein built an elite social circle and “procured” many women and young girls for his associates, among others former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Prince Andrew.
Epstein killed himself in jail in August 2019, bringing an end to his trial, but the rest of the exposed powerful and wealthy are still feeling the ripple effects today. Just ask Bill Gates, whose many alleged indiscretions are becoming public knowledge since he announced his divorce earlier this year.
In a different reveal in a similarly spectacular case convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff lost his toes, teeth and sanity before his death in prison at the age of 82 while serving a 150-year sentence for swindling investors out of $19bn dating back to at least the early 1990s.
The moral is that no matter how much power, wealth and connections with high-profile people you have to help you exploit the vulnerable, it will catch up with you someday.
In local news former president Jacob Zuma will not appear in court today as he is not well enough to attend court.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Taxing crypto assets at 45% in South Africa – what you should know – BusinessTech
Sactwu drags Dr Iqbal Survé to court for Independent Media millions – Daily Maverick
Eskom suspends employees following explosion at Medupi Power Station – SABC News
Global Business
Google’s new hardware campus shows it’s trying to be more like Apple – TNW
Pharmaceutical firms rake in billions with Covid vaccines – AFP
Fully vaccinated people are still getting infected with Covid. Experts explain why – CNBC
Markets
Flash crash shows why it’s tough to be bullish on gold right now – Bloomberg
Oil rout deepens; dollar, Covid wipe nearly 10% off crude in a week – Investing.com
Asian markets struggle as virus, Fed taper talk blur outlook – AFP
Opinion
South Africa a step closer to a super Presidency after Ramaphosa’s master class in consolidating power – Daily Maverick
Covid-19 shows why ‘womenomics’ flopped in Japan – Forbes
Sending smiley emojis? They now mean different things to different people – Wall Street Journal
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