Prince Andrew, the royal who was once deeply entangled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, has increasingly been criticized as a “cynical money-grubber” following the FBI’s formal closure of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Since the investigation has now officially been closed, Prince Andrew is now back with his focus on making money, which he plans to do via international business deals where his decades of contact building would come in handy.
Friends and palace insiders reveal that Andrew is now “obsessed” with regaining financial footing, believing he has “gotten off Scot-free” amid the Epstein controversy. Over the past three years, he has been quietly brokering introductions among wealthy elites in the Gulf states, Asia, and beyond.
Historian Andrew Lownie, author of the forthcoming book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, talks about Andrew’s goals: “Andrew wants money. He wants to enjoy a certain lifestyle, and he can do that with the contacts he has made over the years. Epstein has always been a sideshow – the real story is financial corruption by a senior member of the royal family. I think there are grounds for Andrew to be investigated by the National Crime Agency.”
Lownie describes the prince’s business method as straightforward: “The way it works is that he lends his name, opens his contact book, brings people together, and takes a percentage.”
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A notable example includes a reported but denied attempt by Andrew to secure a 1% fee in a Kazakhstan water services deal and a 2% cut from Chinese investment ventures linked to his Pitch@Palace start-up incubator, a project he established in 2014 and later stepped away from in 2019 after relinquishing royal duties.
For partners in China, the Gulf, and former Soviet republics, Andrew’s involvement carries prestige, supported by close associates like former aide Dominic Hampshire, now with a Bahrain investment fund, and Amanda Thirsk, once his private secretary and now a senior figure at JD.com, a major Chinese e-commerce firm.
Thirsk served as director alongside Yang Tengbo, a Chinese businessman linked to the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Yang was denied UK entry in 2023 on national security grounds due to covert activities.
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Andrew’s public downfall followed his November 2019 BBC interview denying sexual contact with Virginia Giuffre, Epstein’s victim, who tragically died earlier this year.
The fallout from the scandal led him to surrender his HRH style, lose royal roles, annual allowance, and his Buckingham Palace office; in 2022, he settled financially with Giuffre out of court.
Despite a reputation as a recluse, Andrew maintains an active social life, particularly in Britain’s elite shooting circuit, and is allowed by King Charles to host an annual “family day” shoot at Windsor.
“I’m calling BS on this, because that’s what it is.”
Prince Andrew says he has no recollection of meeting Virginia Giuffre, nor of any photo being taken with her and he emphatically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with her. pic.twitter.com/aqQ76kpPHI
— BBC Panorama (@BBCPanorama) December 2, 2019
Despite tension regarding his residence, he refused to move from Royal Lodge to Frogmore Cottage as suggested by Charles. An acquaintance notes, “Among the British upper classes there’s a natural sympathy for the royal family. Andrew maintains he was set up. Plenty take him at his word – and others, even if unconvinced, still believe in innocent until proven guilty.”
While the recent FBI memo officially closes the Epstein investigation, confirming no “client list” exists and affirming Epstein’s death was suicide, public and political reactions remain divided. Some see the closure as a green light for Andrew’s return to international dealings, while critics regard his continuing influence as troubling given the scandal’s shadow.
