W
hile the world reacts with astonishment to the scale of the Jeffrey Epstein affair, it would be more accurate to recall the ordinary and systemic character of the exploitation of women and girls within elite circles. Sexual violence cuts across all social strata, but what characterizes gendered exploitation among powerful men is the way "girls" become central to the staging of their wealth − one attribute among others in the social theater where domination is put on display.
Epstein relied on the labor of his assistants, his connections in the modeling industry, and his own victims to sustain a constant flow of new young girls. Far beyond Epstein himself, across male-dominated elite spheres, young women circulate through intermediaries like "promoters" − men paid to bring girls to parties organized by clubs or wealthy individuals. Their circulation is normalized and entirely visible, even in places such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has hosted lavish gatherings and hired models to serve drinks and provide translation.
For my most recent book, Very Important People (2023), I spent 18 months following the circuit of upscale clubs and jet-set parties, from New York to the Hamptons, from Miami to Saint-Tropez. I knew this milieu well. Having worked in modeling, I partied with promoters in Milan at 19. Later, as a sociologist, I put my high heels back on to sit at their VIP tables. I wanted to understand the mechanisms of this circuit of money and beauty: who profits, and who loses.
