>>510409215Even in the early years, the Maxwells surrounded themselves with bold-faced names.
Two years before media magnate Maxwell fell to his death from the Lady Ghislaine, he made Donald Trump the guest of honor at a May 1989 bash, we were able to confirm. Also present was Maxwell’s cherished daughter Ghislaine.
Did the men compare super-yachts? Maxwell had bought his from Saudi Arabia’s Khashoggi family: the relatives of arms dealer Adnan. Trump, meanwhile, had purchased his from Adnan directly—a purchase that was reported the very same year as the Maxwell party, 1989, in The Superyachts by Boat International.
Perhaps taking a cue from Maxwell, Trump named his yacht after his daughter as well: Trump Princess. Daughter Ivanka was then just eight years of age.
For Trump, the purchase was a strange one. “I’m not into [boats],” he once said. “I’ve been on friends’ boats before and couldn’t get off fast enough.”
So why make the purchase for nearly $30 million? Whatever the reason, it linked Trump to two of the most powerful—and dangerous—men in the world: Maxwell and Khashoggi. Later, those same connections would lead Trump down a shady path to Epstein.
The Maxwell family’s connections were just as strong across the political divide.
According to a 1992 New York Times article, then-Governor Bill Clinton’s close friend Howard Paster moved from Clinton’s gubernatorial campaign to become the head of Hill and Knowlton, a publicity firm representing Maxwell’s firm, Maxwell Communication P.L.C. Other clients of Hill & Knowlton included Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Adnan Khashoggi, and the controversial Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
Ghislaine would later become close friends with the Clinton family, working in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative, vacationing on a yacht with Chelsea Clinton in 2009—and even appearing as a guest of honor at Chelsea’s 2010 wedding to Marc Mezvinsky.