After the publication of Jeffrey Epstein's archive, the names of not only the people he communicated with, but also those to whom he bequeathed his fortune, became known.
Modern.az reports that it is clear from the trust agreement Epstein drafted two days before his death that his main heir was to be a dentist named Karina Shulyak from Belarus. This is the woman Epstein planned to marry and spoke with for the last time before his death. Epstein bequeathed tens of millions of dollars to her. However, it is still unknown whether she received this money.
Epstein drafted a document listing his heirs two days before his death
The final and largest portion of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, released by the U.S. Department of Justice on January 30, included a trust agreement presumed to serve as the financier's will. This 32-page document, drafted by Epstein two days before his death, indicated who would inherit his fortune after his passing.
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell at a New York prison on August 10, 2019. He had been arrested on criminal charges including human trafficking and sexual exploitation, involving minors. According to the official version, Epstein committed suicide, although conspiracy theories claiming he was murdered also exist.
In 2019, Epstein's fortune was estimated to be worth approximately $600 million. However, court documents from 2025 indicate that this amount had decreased to $127 million. Nevertheless, according to ABC News' analysis of the document, Epstein distributed $288 million in his will, as well as several real estate properties.
According to Epstein's wishes, his fortune was to be divided among approximately 40 beneficiaries after his death. Among them were his brother Mark Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison (for luring minors into sexual relations with Epstein and his influential friends), as well as individuals who worked with him, such as his personal pilot Larry Viscosi. The names of some beneficiaries were kept confidential in the document.
According to the trust agreement, Ghislaine Maxwell and Mark Epstein were each to receive $10 million. Accountant Richard Kahn, who signed the agreement and served as one of its executors, was allocated $25 million, and attorney Darren Indyke was allocated $50 million. Epstein's primary heir was Karina Shulyak, whom he planned to marry. She was to inherit $100 million, 48 diamonds, Epstein's diamond ring, as well as his real estate properties – apartments in Paris and New York, his ranch in New Mexico, and his private Caribbean island, Little St. James. Epstein frequently hosted parties on that island.
Epstein's main heir, Karina Shulyak, is from Belarus
The first information about Jeffrey Epstein's companion named Karina Shulyak emerged in the spring of 2020. At that time, the New York Daily News reported that Epstein had spoken with her for the last time before his death. According to The New York Times, Epstein called her on the evening of August 9, 2019. The phone conversation lasted 15 minutes and was not recorded. When a guard asked who he was speaking with, Epstein said he had called his mother (although his mother had passed away in 2004). After the call, he returned to his cell and was found hanged the next morning.
Karina Shulyak is from Belarus. She attended School No. 2 in Minsk, and her teachers remember her as a quiet and modest girl with an interest in dance, according to The Daily Mail. After graduating from school, Karina enrolled in the Belarusian State Medical University. In 2009, at the age of 20, she first traveled to the USA through the "Work and Travel" program. It is presumed that she met Epstein around this time, either that year or the following year.
This acquaintance occurred shortly after Epstein was convicted as a sex offender. At that time, almost everyone had turned away from him, but Karina had not, The Daily Mail reported in 2020, citing an anonymous source. According to the source, Karina was a "sincere, kind, and honest person" and stayed with Epstein not for money, but because she was "madly in love" with him.
Epstein paid for Karina's dentistry education at Columbia University (a field she had also studied in Belarus) and helped her obtain a work permit, although Karina ultimately did not work as a dentist. He also financed expensive medical treatment for Karina's mother in the USA. According to investigations by Belarusian journalists, Epstein obtained Belarusian visas multiple times in the mid-2010s but did not visit the country. Instead, it is reported that he bought an apartment in Minsk, transferred at least $100,000 to Karina's parents, and hosted them several times in the USA. Her parents, in turn, sent him congratulatory letters for holidays.
Karina may not have received the inheritance due to compensation paid to victims
It is unknown whether Karina was aware of Epstein's "masseuses" or if she participated in his sex crimes. Epstein's archive contains a message from 2013 where he reprimands Karina for "considering it her right to monitor who enters and leaves the massage room." A source who spoke to The Daily Mail stated that people around Epstein called Karina an "inspector" because she was madly jealous of Epstein and constantly asked who he was communicating with.
According to the New York Daily News, Shulyak was not sexually exploited by Epstein and genuinely believed in his love. However, according to tabloid reports, she obtained permanent residency in the USA through a sham marriage with a woman named Jennifer Kalin, who was part of Epstein's circle. Sigrid McCawley, one of the lawyers for Epstein's victims, explained that such sham same-sex marriages allowed Epstein to keep girls he favored in the USA.
There is no information about any claims being filed against Karina by law enforcement agencies in connection with the Epstein case.
According to the New York Daily News, there were no signs in the last phone conversation between Epstein and Karina Shulyak indicating that he was preparing to commit suicide. The Daily Mail writes that Karina fell into depression after Epstein's death. A source for the publication stated that she was living off savings left by Epstein and "hoped for the will."
It is presumed that Karina Shulyak currently lives in New York, despite more than six years having passed since Epstein's death. It is unknown whether she received an inheritance and, if so, in what amount. The New York Times notes that Epstein's fortune has significantly decreased due to taxes and compensation paid to victims. Daniel Weiner, the attorney for Richard Kahn and Darren Indyke, executors of Epstein's will, stated that no beneficiary would receive "a single cent" until the victims' claims are fully paid. According to him, Kahn and Indyke have paid $170 million to victims to date.
