Ariane de Rothschild has sought to reassure the clients of her private Swiss bank over her links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The billionaire French banking chief executive of Edmond de Rothschild Group, 60, was in close contact with Epstein from 2013 until 2019, the year he died in a federal jail cell in Manhattan while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The Baroness, who was revealed to be a confidante of the paedophile in the latest tranche of Epstein files, has insisted her connections and now-public exchanges with him do not undermine “my integrity or the integrity of our group’s activities”.
It is understood that the family-owned private bank and asset management firm, of which Baroness de Rothschild is also chairman, is seeking to reassure spooked clients after the revelations, which have prompted widespread concern about its leadership.
She said in a letter to customers: “Our group is about to announce very solid results with a robust balance sheet and high-quality capital.”
‘Clearly false or altered’
In the letter, seen by The Telegraph, the Baroness added: “I am confident in the future of our group. Please be assured of my determination, and that of my teams, to support you over the long term. I would like to thank you once again for your trust.”
Sources claimed the climate was “extremely tense” inside the bank, which managed around 184bn Swiss francs (£175bn) between its private banking and asset management arms in 2024.
One client said: “If the bank is affected legally or financially, that puts me at risk. If management accepted or overlooked this type of association, how can integrity be guaranteed?”
In her letter, Baroness de Rothschild, who has a personal fortune estimated at €5.3bn (£4.62bn), insisted that her private exchanges with Epstein were “made public without context or chronology,” adding that the release included “elements that are clearly false or altered”.
She explained that the pair were introduced in 2013 by Terje Rod Larsen, a Norwegian former deputy prime minister, who she said was “internationally recognised at the time for his role in the Oslo Accords”.
Referring to Epstein, Baroness de Rothschild added: “This introduction took place in a context when he was regarded as an influential businessman among senior international decision-makers and officials.”
The files released by the US justice department have shed light on the international and powerful web of influence the financier had established in his lifetime, ranging from top politicians to the global glitterati.
The latest release of three million documents in late January showed Baroness de Rothschild consulting Epstein repeatedly and on a range of topics, including asking his advice to help navigate a private legal battle with other members of her family as well as to allegedly complain about her late husband, Benjamin.
She became a member of one of Europe’s most prominent banking dynasties after her marriage in 1999, and took over as sole manager of the family business following de Rothschild’s death in 2021, aged 57, from a heart attack.
One email exchange between her and Epstein, dated the day after Britain voted to leave the European Union, she remarked: “We both know why we so dislike the Brits ! What a mess ! At least, we’ll keep trading volatility for a while.”
‘Bring the girls’
Another in 2017 showed Epstein asking the mother-of-four whether her daughters had the “HPV [Human Papillomavirus] shots,” saying he has “all the assitants [sic] get a full health check”, to which she responded that they did.
In another, he urged her to “bring the girls” – likely a reference to her four daughters – to his Little Saint James island, and informed her about a trip to Cuba, which he said he was organising for November 2017. They frequently coordinated diaries and timings for potential meet-ups around the globe and conversations over the phone.
In the letter to clients, she added that she and her daughters had been “deeply hurt and shocked by the scandalous accusations directed at us, particularly on social media”.
She went on: “The violence of certain shortcuts and unfounded accusations contributes to a climate one might have thought belonged to another time.”
The banker explained that Epstein facilitated introductions for her and that she “discovered the reality and extent of the crimes committed by J. Epstein and his entourage at the same time as the general public”.
“I say this without any ambiguity – as a mother, as CEO and as a shareholder – these acts are of extreme gravity and I condemn them in the strongest possible terms,” she added, saying: “I would like once again to express my sincere compassion to the victims of J. Epstein.”
Being in the files is no indication of wrongdoing and the private bank has previously stated that Epstein was a business acquaintance of Baroness de Rothschild from 2013-2019.
An Edmond de Rothschild spokesman told The Telegraph: “Inflows have remained particularly strong since the beginning of the year.
“This will be clear when we announce our results in March. The bank will announce results that will confirm its growth momentum and its financial strength.
“Regarding the letter that has been sent to you, it was part of a transparent, natural and proactive communication with our clients, given the legitimate questions they might have had following the publication of various articles and content on social media mentioning the professional relationship between J. Epstein and the bank, some of which contained false information.”