The tragic revelations surrounding those involved with and victimized by Jeffrey Epstein continue to shock and surprise even the most callous of us.
Politicians, celebrities, billionaires–those who are so often considered ‘the smartest people in the room’ were stupid enough to spend time with this known predator and participate in his abuse of underaged girls.
‘Disgust’ doesn’t begin to describe it. ‘Outrage’ is the more appropriate response, when you consider how long this vile conduct went on after law enforcement authorities knew what was going on. (Mind you, it was a journalist who brought all this to the public’s attention, not the police, and it was civil litigation, not criminal prosecution, that really blew the lid off this entire criminal enterprise.)
My interest, however, does not lie with the obvious headlines. I prefer to focus on how one (very) Old Money Guy handled it, as reported by the UK’s Telegraph newspaper. (Mr. Dumas is the sixth generation of his family to head up the luxury brand Hermes.)
Moral of the story: be very selective about who you associate with.
And thanks to David, our foreign correspondent, for bringing this to my attention.
I was targeted by ‘financial predator’ Epstein, says Hermès boss
Axel Dumas says he refused convicted paedophile’s repeated requests to meet him
The boss of luxury goods brand Hermès has said he was a “target” of Jeffrey Epstein, labelling the convicted paedophile a “financial predator”.
French billionaire Axel Dumas, 55, said Epstein had tried to meet him several times when he was an up-and-coming executive, emailing his assistant to request meetings on multiple occasions between 2013 and 2014.
Emails published by the US Department of Justice show that Epstein made a number of purchases at Hermès stores in Paris and that he contacted the French company to ask it to design the interior of his private plane.
Mr Dumas said he only ever met Epstein once, during an event organised by Hermès in March 2013. Epstein was not an invited guest but was part of a larger group.
“I think I was a target. I was a young CEO and we were in the middle of the LVMH affair. He was a financial predator,” said Mr Dumas, who was about 43 years old at the time. “He already had a hateful reputation.
“After that, he tried three times to meet with me and I refused every time.
“I can’t tell you exactly what we knew about him or not because I can’t remember 13 years ago but he already had a loathsome reputation.”
At the time of Epstein’s emails, Hermès was embroiled in a possible takeover situation with rival LVMH after it had taken a stake in the group. LVMH always denied that it had been mounting a bid.
In an email sent by Epstein to Dumas’s assistant, he wrote: “Track down Axel Dumas in hermes headquarters paris.”
The emails show that the assistant rejected the requests, saying Mr Dumas – the sixth generation of the Hermès family to run the company – had a “prior engagement” and “a very tight agenda”.
Mr Dumas’s comments were made as Hermès released its annual financial results which showed a near-10pc rise in quarterly revenue for the final three months of 2025. Mr Dumas’s case highlights how Epstein sought to cultivate relationships with rich and powerful figures in the business world.
The Epstein files, published by US authorities, have shone a light on his relationships with billionaires and leading business leaders from across the globe.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 on prostitution charges and for soliciting an underage girl.
In 2019, he was again arrested on sex trafficking charges. He took his own life in a Manhattan jail cell months later.
Hermès did not respond to The Telegraph’s request for comment.