Pervy Billionaire or 21st-Century Hugh Hefner?

He owns the largest residence in Manhattan, several planes, and a private island. A superstar financial adviser to seriously wealthy clients, Jeffrey Epstein is also a patron of cutting-edge scientists and an FOB. But, New York magazine writes, he inhabits a sexual dream world populated by young girls giving "massages" that has him facing federal prostitution charges.

Epstein reportedly had an arrangement with an 18-year-old girl who would find other girls, ranging from 14 to 19, to come to his house in Palm Beach to perform services cops don't believe stopped with massages. Epstein is expected to plead guilty rather than risk a hefty jail sentence, but he is cheerfully unrepentant. The writer wonders aloud if Epstein is being punished for his excessive wealth. “ 'It’s the Icarus story, someone who flies too close to the sun,' I said. 'Did Icarus like massages?' Epstein asked." (More Bear Stearns stories.)