Drexel to Epstein
I Just Fell Down a Financial Rabbit Hole, and It’s WILD
Okay, guys, I need to talk about something that’s been eating my brain since I stumbled across this insane thread online. It started with a clothing company—yep, you heard that right—called Cancel This Clothing Company, who apparently decided to play detective and dig into the murky world of high finance. Their post sent me spiraling from BlackRock’s boardroom to the founding of American banking, all the way to—brace yourselves—Jeffrey Epstein. I’m not saying I’ve uncovered the Da Vinci Code, but this ride is too wild not to share. So, grab a coffee, and let’s unpack this together!
The Spark: A Clothing Company Drops a Bombshell
So, I’m scrolling X, minding my own business, when I see this thread from Cancel This Clothing Company. They’re poking into BlackRock, that mega-corp managing more money than most countries’ GDPs, and specifically mention someone named Pam Daly (who I think they meant Pamela Daley, but more on that later). This leads them to General Electric (GE), and boom—I’m hooked. Apparently, GE was founded in 1892 by Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan. Like, the lightbulb guy and the banking legend? How did I not know this?
GE’s a beast—131 years old, one of the world’s most diversified companies, and now splitting into three (GE Aerospace, GE Vernova, GE HealthCare, if you’re curious). But the real kicker? The money behind GE’s founding came from Drexel, Morgan & Co., a firm tied to J.P. Morgan and a guy named Anthony J. Drexel. That name—Drexel—sent Cancel This Clothing Company down a rabbit hole, and I’m right behind them.
Rewind to the 1800s: Who’s This Drexel Guy?
Drexel, Morgan & Co. bankrolled Edison’s electric dreams, merging his companies into what became GE. Anthony J. Drexel was the big shot, with a young J.P. Morgan as his sidekick. But who was Drexel? Turns out, his dad, Francis Martin Drexel, was an Austrian immigrant who landed in Philadelphia in the 1800s. He started as a portrait painter, schmoozing with high society, then flipped those connections into founding Drexel & Co. in 1838. From painting to banking? That’s some serious hustle. His son Anthony took it to the next level, mentoring Morgan and helping birth GE. I’m already dizzy, but it gets wilder.
The 1980s: Drexel Burnham Lambert and Junk Bond Chaos
Fast-forward to the 1930s, and Drexel’s firm merges with Burnham & Co. to become Drexel Burnham Lambert. By the 1980s, they’re infamous for inventing the junk bond market—high-risk bonds that fueled corporate takeovers. Sounds sketchy, right? It was. Enter Michael Milken, their star player, who raked in $296 million in 1986 and—hold onto your hats—$550 million in 1987. Half a billion dollars in one year! How? Well, let’s just say Milken wasn’t playing by the rules.
The feds, led by a pre-mayor Rudy Giuliani, caught wind of insider trading, stock manipulation, and “stock parking” (a shady trick to hide who owns stocks). Drexel pleaded guilty in 1988, paid $650 million in fines, and went bankrupt in 1990. Milken did 22 months in prison but bounced back to a cushy life, running the Milken Institute. Crime doesn’t pay? Apparently, it does if you’re Milken.
The Epstein Connection: Enter Leon Black
Here’s where my jaw dropped. When Drexel sank, some of its players landed on their feet. One was Leon Black, Milken’s right-hand man, who co-founded Apollo Global Management, now a private equity giant. And guess who Black teamed up with? Jeffrey Epstein. In 1997, Black made Epstein a trustee of his family foundation, funneling millions through him for “financial services.” Between 2012 and 2017, Black paid Epstein $158 million—yes, million—for tax and estate advice, per The New York Times. Black had more meetings with Epstein than almost anyone, and the fallout forced him to step down as Apollo’s CEO in 2021. He claims he didn’t know about Epstein’s crimes, but… $158 million? Yikes.
Back to JPMorgan—and a Clothing Company?
The thread loops back to J.P. Morgan’s modern legacy, JPMorgan Chase. In 2023, they settled for $290 million with Epstein’s victims, who said the bank enabled his trafficking ring by handling his accounts for years, even after red flags. They also paid $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands over similar claims. No guilt admitted, but those numbers scream “we messed up.”
Now, here’s where Cancel This Clothing Company comes in hot. They point out that L Brands—yep, the folks behind Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works—was ground zero for exposing Epstein’s financial web. Leslie Wexner, L Brands’ founder, was Epstein’s only known client for years, giving him power of attorney and a foothold in elite circles. Epstein managed Wexner’s fortune, lived in his properties, and allegedly targeted models scouting for Victoria’s Secret. When Epstein’s 2019 charges hit, the #CancelVictoriaSecret movement erupted, and investigations (including a 2025 Senate probe) tied it all back to finance giants like Black and JPMorgan. L Brands’ fallout—Wexner’s resignation, the rebrand to Bath & Body Works—cracked open this whole saga.
What’s the Point?
I’m not saying Pamela Daley (who was a GE exec, not a BlackRock board member—my bad for following the typo) or GE are directly tied to Epstein. But this thread from Cancel This Clothing Company shows how money connects everything. From Drexel’s 1800s bank to GE’s founding, to Milken’s junk bond empire, to Epstein’s schemes bankrolled by billionaires like Wexner and Black—it’s a web of power and privilege. Money doesn’t move itself; people do. And sometimes, those people are up to no good.
Huge props to Cancel This Clothing Company for digging into this and sparking my obsession. Their call to “cancel” isn’t just about boycotts—it’s about questioning the systems that let this stuff slide. So, I’m taking their advice: Stay curious. Follow the money. Dig into the names and numbers yourself.
What do you think? Have you stumbled across a crazy thread like this? Drop it in the comments, and let’s keep unraveling these wild connections together!
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