Am I alone in remembering that Italy already gave us a preview of the Epstein scandal? Remember former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi? Remember his “bunga-bunga” parties, which came to light when underage nightclub dancer “Ruby Rubacuori” (Ruby Heartstealer) was arrested in 2010? And then the failed cover up?
I know, there are differences of fact and degree.
To begin with, the jovial, piano-playing Berlusconi seems like a nicer, less creepy guy than Epstein. A normal person might even imagine attending what Berlusconi called “elegant dinners” at his villa outside Milan. Compared to photos in the Epstein files, Berlusconi’s villas in Sardinia and outside Milan were more welcoming than Epstein’s and the food seems to have been better. Moreover, Berlusconi was a former cruise-ship entertainer who took making his guests happy seriously. He played the piano and sang. There was karaoke.
The American scandal trumps the Italian one in heinousness and reach; more money, more girls, younger girls, and more geopolitical ramifications and conspiracies. More importantly, there were legal consequences. Berlusconi was tried, though eventually acquitted on appeal, for charges of extortion, child prostitution, and judicial corruption.
Berlusconi’s choice of females was also less creepy. True, Ruby was not 18 and Berlusconi’s surprise appearance at the family party for Noemi Letizia’s 18th birthday provoked his divorce from his second wife. On the whole, he preferred women who were more mature. Even the underage girls Berlusconi chose were riper, Sophia Loren types rather than pre-pubescent types. Many had personal agency and real lives; they were regional politicians, nurses or dental hygienists, and had passed the age limit of the Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein enterprise.
The American scandal trumps the Italian one in heinousness and reach; more money, more girls, younger girls, and more geopolitical ramifications and conspiracies. More importantly, there were legal consequences. Berlusconi was tried, though eventually acquitted on appeal, for charges of extortion, child prostitution, and judicial corruption.
But back to the similarities between Berlusconi and Trump-Epstein. In both cases, the origin of the money is unclear and sinister, with hints of organized crime. (Although Berlusconi’s actual real estate and TV businesses were more successful and more transparent than Trump or Epstein’s affairs.)
Both Trump and Berlusconi see themselves as uniquely persecuted by weaponized legal systems.
Perhaps most important of all, behind both Berlusconi and Trump are driven by a deep resentment at having been rejected by the establishment. Berlusconi never got over snubs from the king of Italy’s “royal family,” Fiat owner Giovanni Agnelli. Likewise, Trump was never able to overcome the taint of New York’s outer-boroughs and penetrate Manhattan’s social and financial elite. Despite all the claims about his network of powerful men, Epstein’s lack of college education and his own outer-borough origins also barred him from top-drawer New York social and financial circles.
The appearance of money and power notwithstanding, Trump, Berlusconi, and Epstein are essentially weak men. Despite their self-aggrandizing talk about being “winners” and masters of a Darwinian universe, they hid in self-built worlds where they could protect themselves against Darwin’s tough rules. There they surrounded themselves with other weak men. In Berlusconi’s case, many were old friends and sycophants who owed him everything. In Epstein’s case, they were at loose ends, having just lost power, such as former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, or they were in their sunset years, such as Noam Chomsky, or just plain unattractive (a long list from Elon Musk to Alan Dershowitz).
In their private worlds, they could game the system to overcome their flaws. Instead of competing for attractive females — and probably losing to younger, better looking, or nicer men — they preyed on young women who could not say no. Likewise they reduced financial competition and gamed the market. They avoided taxes, helped each other launder money and engaged in self-dealing.
Despite their self-aggrandizing talk about being “winners” and masters of a Darwinian universe, they hid in self-built worlds where they could protect themselves against Darwin’s tough rules.
In their insecurity, they sucked up to those who appear stronger; Berlusconi, like Trump and Epstein, sought and boasted about friendship with Vladimir Putin.
They are too insecure to forge their own individualistic tastes or follow authentic inclinations. They need what has been vetted or received stamps of approval from others. The women must be recognized as “models” or beauty pageant contestants.
Trump and Berlusconi had educational credentials and are untroubled by their lack of intellectual interests. Not so Epstein, the college dropout who compensated for his educational inferiority by wearing Harvard sweatshirts and dangling donations. He cultivated an image as the leader of an intellectual salon. Unlike the great salons of the past, such as Madame du Barry’s or George Sand’s, there were no intelligent women or impoverished poets or philosophes around Epstein. From the hundreds of scientists, legal scholars, and thinkers out there, Epstein invited men who had written best sellers or were household names.
As the Berlusconi scandal unfolded 20 years ago and as the documents from the Epstein files continue to drip out, we must remember that it may not be the truly strong we should fear. We must be vigilant against those who feel weak, for they are the ones who prey on the weaker.
