Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell's Father? New Details On Robert Maxwell, Former Media Mogul Who Died In 1991
He was a media mogul!
Getty Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's closest confidante, has been dominating the news in the wake of her recent arrest. Prosecutors are interested in knowing the details of her specific ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein — and what role she played in allegedly procuring underage girls for him to abuse. While Maxwell is being pressured to "name names," people are also waiting with bated breath to see whether she will, indeed, survive to tell her tale.
But while much ado has been made about Ghislaine Maxwell's ties to Jeffrey Epstein, there's another man that's been very influential in her life: her father, a onetime media mogul who fell from grace before his death in 1991.
Who is Ghislaine Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell?
He was born in Czechoslovakia.
Robert Maxwell was born Ján Ludvík Hoch in 1923 in what was then known as Czechoslovakia, but what is known today as the Czech Republic. He was raised in Hasidic Jewish family, but as he grew up, the Nazi regime began occupying Czechoslovakia. Many of his family members, in fact, were claimed by the Nazi regime.
At age 16, he fled to France.
Unlike many of his family members, who were claimed by the Nazi regime, Maxwell escaped at the age of 16. When he escaped, he made his way to France, where he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion (a volunteer army) in March 1940. He went on to Britain later that year, where he changed his name to Ian Robert Maxwell (and would later just go by Robert Maxwell), joined the British army by lying about his age, and eventually earned a Military Cross by "storming a German machine-gun nest.”
He bought his first publishing company after the war, and became a multimillionaire by the age of 40.
In 1951, he paid about $51,000 for his first publishing company by buying out a small press. He renamed the company Pergamon Press, and the company specialized in what would eventually become known as academic journals. Through collecting subscription fees, he would eventually buy out more publishing companies, and became a multimillionaire by the age of 40.
He had other business ventures besides the publishing business.
Aside from acquiring other media properties — including The Mirror's parent company in 1984 — Robert Maxwell had other business ventures. In 1964, he was elected Labour MP for Buckingham, and served in the role for six years. He also tried to buy some soccer teams, including Manchester United, and served as the Chairman of the Oxford United soccer team for a time.
He died in a boating accident.
On November 5, 1991, Robert Maxwell fell from his $15 million yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, while sailing off the coast of the Canary Islands. His body was recovered one month later. In addition to leaving behind his daughter, Ghislaine — his youngest child — two of his sons, Ian and Kevin, eventually inherited the publishing business. However, shortly after his body was recovered, it was revealed that the publishing company was in debt for more than $460 million; the sons would eventually file for bankruptcy.
Ghislaine Maxwell was irreparably damaged by her father's death.
Sources close to Ghislaine Maxwell say she was irreparably harmed by Robert Maxwell's accidental death, and she never fully recovered from it. In fact, these same sources blame Robert Maxwell for putting her in the circles that would, eventually, lead her to Jeffrey Epstein's clutches.
"For Oxford-educated Ghislaine, the youngest of his nine children, Maxwell’s money had provided status and a ticket to the elite. She was dispatched to New York initially as a meeter-and-greeter, to pave her father’s way when he bought the Daily News. After his death, she made it her home. She soon became part of Epstein’s inner circle and remained there for more than a decade," they said.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.