Very Dark Side of Networking: Jeffrey Epstein Was "Collector of People"

Use the term "ethics" on your social networks and you probably won't get many page views. Not so for any terms for "networking." 

That's why families pay coaches $200 to $1,000 an hour or from $10,000 to $50,000 for a package to assist in having their offspring admitted to an Ivy such as Harvard. And, once in the door Harvard undergrads know what counts are the contacts made.

So, the ethical issues of how society enables networking haven't gotten much attention. Until now. Powerful thought leaders, politicos and even ambitious parents might start focusing on this. The New York Times published an explosive long-form feature about how very bad guy Jeffrey Epstein went about being a "collector of people." 

A core focus of the article is whether JP Morgan Chair and CEO Jamie Dimon was in that collection. Had Dimon been aware of Epstein as a prized client or did his team shield him from that source of lucrative business introductions for the bank? At the time the financial institution's Compliance and Legal had warned that Epstein, based on his transactions, should be terminated as a client. That was ignored for too long. 

Meanwhile star Jes Staley, who was making a killing through those introductions, was defending the relationship. Well, for Staley, unlike Dimon at least up until now, that story does not end well. He wound up leaving JP Morgan and in 2023 it sued:

" ... saying he should be held liable for any financial damages it might have to pay from two lawsuits that alleged it enabled Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. JPMorgan has denied liability."

Of course, JP Morgan could be just the tip of iceberg on how the network tool for a success can immerse the institution and individuals in financial, legal, reputational, ethical and even personal safety risk. This isn't new.

For centuries the Roman Catholic Church warned that one's companions can be "near occasions of sin." 

As Prince Hal matured into being King Henry V, William Shakespeare had him dump Sir John Falstaff who had no moral compass. 

The Duke of Windsor, who had been King Edward VIII, never recovered from his association with Hitler. 

Melinda Gates was uncomfortable with her then husband's relationship with Epstein.

Paul, Weiss took it on the chin when long-time friend of Epstein financial mogul Leon Black had been a client. 

What's new, as of today, is the highlighting explicitly by the influential Times how being "collected" can possibly inflict such grim consequences on an institution, the people inside and those who do business with it. It might turn out not to be worth the immediate financial gain. 

In addition to all that is what being in such as loop can do to your human dignity. 

Over and over in tarot readings clients tell me how their sense of self is eroding. In professional services such as practicing law and doing public relations they feel increasingly exploited. 

But they hesitate to exit being associated with a high-status firm that has brandname clients and pays well. After all, it was so hard to loop in. So many hoops to jump through. Yet, that whole network, from the bottom of the pyramid to the top, could be a peril to those who have once considered themselves lucky to have been collected.

So here we are. The situation can be symbolized by the Wheel of Fortune card in the tarot.

 Dimon is on the hot seat. It could get a lot hotter. And the reputational damage could be sticky. 

Tarot Card Reader. Medium. Intuitive Career Coach.

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