The Epstein Files: A Grim Truth About Wealth, Power, and Abuse

I am not here to debate the political angles of the infamous Epstein Files, nor to moralise. What is shocking is the public perception: many seem genuinely stunned by what occurred on Epstein Island and within his network. The Epstein Files (like Watergate, Wikileaks, Cablegate, and the Steele Dossier) may appear sensational, but they reveal a grim truth: the concentration of wealth and power enables behaviour that can be intolerable—and criminal—for most. Politicians and the ultra-rich often operate with impunity. F Scott Fitzgerald describes how extreme wealth fosters a sense of superiority, cynicism, carelessness with consequences, and emotional insulation: all qualities that make the rich operate by different rules, often viewing themselves as exempt from ordinary accountability. Extreme wealth provides insurance, or insulation, against consequences. We were warned with graphic images in cinema: “Eyes Wide Shut” by Stanley Kubrick was a revelation. It fits strikingly into the context of Fitzgerald’s “the rich are different” and the Epstein files, a cinematic bridge between literary critique and real-world revelations of predatory privilege. In Kubrick’s world of orgies where masked super-elites play, the victims are from lower strata (they are treated as disposable), while the elite retreat into impunity. The film was prescient about how money, secrecy, and impunity create inevitable nexuses of abuse. There was a dramatic and possibly relevant video of a young Mexican model, distraught, screaming, “They are eating babies!”, after attending one of the Epstein parties. She was, it is said, arrested, and ‘disappeared’, and was never seen again. Yet, it is “Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom” that I am most reminded of. This is quite possibly the most disturbing film ever made, at least among those that I have seen. Only “In the Realm of the Senses”, by Nagisa Oshima, a staggering tale of sexual obsession, comes close in shock value. A couple are caught up in a vortex or vicious cycle of increasingly dangerous sexual behaviour. The unsimulated, explicit sex scenes, in fact, produce not prurience, but horror in the viewer. The film’s intensity peaks with its violent conclusion, where the female protagonist strangles her lover to death during erotic asphyxiation and then castrates his corpse, carrying the severed penis with her, blending extreme eroticism with graphic mutilation and murder in a way that challenged societal taboos on sex, obsession, and violence. Tellingly, it is based on a real-life story, but then it is a private tale, not one that involved powerful, public men. “Salo”, by Pier Paolo Pasolini, is a loose adaptation of the Marquis de Sade’s 1785 novel “The 120 Days of Sodom”, relocated to the final days of Mussolini’s fascist Republic of Salo (1943–1945) in northern Italy. Four powerful libertines – a Duke (nobility), Bishop (church), Magistrate (law/state), and President (finance/capital) – are the protagonists. They kidnap 18 young victims (mostly teenagers) and subject them to escalating cycles of sexual torture, degradation, humiliation, and murder in a remote villa. I remember the horrifying close-up of a young man’s eye being plucked out. This isn’t mere shock exploitation; Pasolini uses Sade’s framework as a scorching allegory for: ● Absolute power corrupting absolutely, where the elite treat bodies (especially vulnerable young ones) as disposable objects for consumption and control. ● Fascism as the ultimate expression of capitalist/consumerist nihilism. The libertines embody the “anarchy of power” in a permissive, totalitarian system where rules exist only to protect the perpetrators. ● Moral detachment and cynicism: the rich aren’t just wealthier; they’re philosophically and emotionally severed from humanity, viewing others as means to gratification without consequence. Do these examples reflect how all powerful men act? Possibly not. But the Epstein Files illustrate a disturbing reality: concentrated power, secrecy, and wealth can enable systemic abuse. Confirmed reports show: Recruitment and grooming of underage girls Sexual assault on minors Distribution of child sexual abuse material Trafficking across state and international borders Is this how powerful men are? Is this how those with absolute power, especially men, have always acted? Or is it culture-specific? That’s a good question. But are elites generally debauched, depraved, and dissolute? Not all, but indeed some. Several elite individuals—royalty, political figures, industry leaders—were implicated. Some lost privileges or faced consequences, but many remained shielded. Epstein’s network functioned like an exclusive, predatory system, hidden from public scrutiny. This is a reminder: wealth and power can shield perpetrators from justice. It’s sad but true. (The writer has been a conservative columnist for over 25 years. His academic interest is innovation. Views expressed are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.) Rajeev Srinivasan is a management consultant and columnist, and a fan of art cinema.see more The recently concluded India-US trade deal underscores Bharat’s strategic resurgence and positions India for accelerated growth in global trade. Following months of tariff-induced market turbulence, the deal reduces US tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%, significantly boosting export potential. 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