A New Yorker who got to know Ghislaine through his ex-girlfriend, calls her "a modern-day geisha girl of the capitalist world. She inhabits a domain filled with the richest people in the world some of whom are good guys, and some of whom are bad and who think they are above the law. It's a world frequented by young half-naked girls in bikinis, billionaires and lavish lifestyles, but it borders on the grotesque. You are never really sure what is going on behind closed doors."
Ghislaine (pronounced Jhee-len) was devastated by her father's death. "She was catatonic. It hit her in a way that scared people. She hit absolute rock bottom, she didn't stop crying," says another friend. "It must have been so complicated for her. All the security she had grown up with. She was the life and soul of the party wherever she wanted to go in the world and never had to worry about money."
She met Epstein some time later and they are thought to have been briefly an item, but then became friends.
According to a profile in Vanity Fair, Epstein is not one for long-term romantic relationships but "he tells people that when a relationship is over, the girlfriend 'moves up, not down' to friendship status". He said that Ghislaine was not on his payroll but organised much of his life and was his "best friend".
This eagerness to please can indeed be traced to her childhood where she was the youngest of seven children born to Betty Maxwell and the domineering Bob. "Her desperation to please him, to live up to his high standard of success at all costs, must surely haunt her, even years after his death," Leigh says. "How did Ghislaine manage to conquer the heights of Manhattan society, both salubrious and not so salubrious? The secret, I believe, is that she was always daddy's girl, and thought that she was entitled to mingle only with the best. Thus armed with self-confidence and Maxwell's favourite motto ('kindness, courtesy and consideration') she effortlessly charmed her way to the top."
She was born just three days after the Maxwells' eldest son, Michael, was fatally brain damaged in a car crash in 1968 (he died seven years later). From then on she was Bob's favourite. The only photograph he deigned to display in his penthouse office was of Ghislaine.
He nurtured dreams that his daughter would marry John F. Kennedy Jr.
But rather than Camelot, she ended up in a world where the man in her life was interested in girls not much more than a third of her age.
Epstein traveled to Cuba at Castro's invitation, ex-Colombian president says
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/epstein-traveled-to-cuba-at-castros-invitation-ex-colombian-president-says/ar-AAFOmiU
By Nora Gamez Torres and Ben Wieder, Miami Herald 8/14/2019
“Amid journalistic revelations about horrifying and reprehensible sex scandals of financier Jeffrey Epstein, a trip of mine on his plane to Nassau, Bahamas has appeared, to transfer to the final destination of Havana, Cuba, invited by President Fidel Castro,” Pastrana said in a statement posted Wednesday on Twitter.
“Mr. Jeffrey Epstein left Cuba a day or two later; I stayed on the island,” he added.
The trip to Cuba would have taken place in March 2003, when Pastrana was no longer president of Colombia.
Pastrana said he met Epstein in Ireland at an Academy of Achievements’ summit attended by personalities such as former President Bill Clinton and the rock star Bono. The event took place between June 6 and 9, 2002.
Epstein’s private planes’ flight records, released by one of his former pilots, David Rodgers, show that one of Epstein’s jets arrived in Dublin on June 7, 2002, and left the next day, with the millionaire on board.
>Pastrana said he met Epstein in Ireland at an Academy of Achievements’ summit attended by personalities such as former President Bill Clinton and the rock star Bono. The event took place between June 6 and 9, 2002.
THE ODD COUPLE; Andrew falls for Maxwell's girl
Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)
PRINCE ANDREW is dating the daughter of disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell.
The Duke of York has been spotted holding hands with Ghislaine Maxwell, 39, over a romantic meal in New York.
The pair only had eyes for each other as they sat in a quiet corner of an intimate Manhattan restaurant.
Later, they fuelled rumours of a romance by going to extraordinary lengths to avoid the cameras.
The prince, who met the daughter of the dead media mogul through his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, arrived at the restaurant on Madison Avenue alone.
He only joined Ghislaine, who was Maxwell's favourite daughter, when he was well inside exclusive eaterie Nello's, away from the public gaze.
A member of staff said the couple barely touched their meal as they chatted and caressed each other's hands.
But their elaborate plan to dodge waiting paparazzi on leaving didn't fool photographer Lawrence Schwartzwald.
He said: "Andrew was like a gentleman caught with his pants down. At one stage, he tried to hide behind some shrubbery."
Schwartzwald said he was surprised by Andrew's reaction once he knew they were sprung.
He saw the photographer and said: "I am only in New York for a day. I am just passing through, it's no big deal."
Last night, Schwartzwald said: "I was stunned he even spoke to me. It was clear Andrew did not want to be photographed with Ghislaine."
Schwartzwald was standing outside Nello's when Manhattan socialite Ghislaine left - pretending to be alone - and wandered up the road to look in boutique windows.
The prince walked out a few minutes later as Ghislaine dived into a crowd of shoppers.
Schwartzwald said: "I saw Ghislaine duck into a shop in a panic. She kept zipping in and out of different stores.
"Andrew took off along Madison Avenue. I caught up with him several blocks away on 5th Avenue, standing on a street corner looking flustered.
"He tried to camouflage himself in the shrubbery - he was like a turkey about to be shot."
Eventually Andrew, who was frowning, emerged from the bushes and told Schwartzwald: "Be reasonable now. You have your photographs. I am just waiting for my car."
Back at Nello's, a staff member said: "They were more into each other than the food. It was wonderful to watch.
"Ghislaine is a great girl. She comes in here all the time. Prince Andrew has been here before - last year with Ghislaine."
The pair spent several hours together but were constantly on the lookout for photographers.
Ghislaine's close relationship with Andrew is said to have infuriated Fergie, who still shares a house with the duke at Sunninghill Park in Berkshire.
The duchess, who met Ghislaine on the hectic New York social circuit of benefits and fundraising galas, remains close to her ex-husband.
It's said she fears Ghislaine will steal her place as the woman closest to his heart.
Oxbridge-educated Ghislaine, who lives off a trust fund worth pounds 80,000 a year, has known Andrew for years.
She became one of his closest confidantes after the split with Fergie.
The pair caused a stir two months ago when they appeared together at a high-profile Ralph Lauren fashion show.
Andrew, who normally steers clear of such glitzy occasions, looked happy and relaxed in her company.
Oakeshott, Isabel. "THE ODD COUPLE; Andrew falls for Maxwell's girl." Daily Record [Glasgow, Scotland] 22 Apr. 2000:
The prince and his new flame were reportedly planning to meet up on Madison Avenue after their meal but abandoned the arrangement once they knew they had been seen.
The prince has played the field since his marriage broke up in 1992.
He has been linked to a string of beauties, most recently, PR girl Emma Gibbs.
He has dated eligible women on both sides of the Atlantic, including willowy blonde Catrina Skepper, PR woman Aurelia Cecil, golfer Sally Prosser and ex- model Koo Stark. But his flings have rarely turned into real romances.
Ghislaine has been a constant companion in recent years, and it's clear the well-connected society girl, who has lived in New York since her father died in mysterious circumstances in 1991, has a special place in his heart.
Andrew has become a regular guest at the famous dinner parties she holds on New York's prestigious Upper East Side.
Just weeks ago, Andrew was linked to French beauty Audrey Raimbault, who shares his passion for golf.
Andrew, 40, became besotted with 23-year-old Audrey when they met at the Ryder Cup in the US last September.
He invited Audrey to visit him in Windsor several times and is said to have taken her into Buckingham Palace for a tour of his private quarters.
The palace refused to comment on his blossoming relationship last night.
A spokesman said: "We do not discuss the royals' private lives.
"GHISLAINE
SHE was the youngest daughter of Robert Maxwell - and his favourite.
Ghislaine, who went to private school and Oxford, never wanted for anything. Her doting father helped her set up her own firm and later gave her jobs in his media empire.
Maxwell named his yacht after her and she was devastated when he drowned while sailing off Tenerife.
She went into hiding when it emerged her father had funded his lavish lifestyle with pounds 440million from the Mirror Group pension fund.
After a time, she dated US financier Jeffrey Epstein and re-invented herself as a New York socialite. It was on the party circuit that she met Fergie - who introduced her to the prince.