People from all walks of life break the law, of course. But for the rich, wrapped in a cocoon of immense comfort, it can be easy to yield to temptation, experts say.

“A sense of entitlement sets in,” said Dennis Pearne, a psychologist who counsels people on matters related to extreme wealth. The attitude, he said, becomes, “I deserve anything I want, I can have anything I want — and I can afford it.”

To prosecutors, Mr. Epstein is just another sex offender. He did what he did because he could, and because he never dreamed he would get caught, they say. Mr. Epstein’s defenders counter that he has been unjustly persecuted because of his wealth and lofty connections.

The problem with wealth for people who can't control it is that it promotes a false sense of entitlement. It offers power benefits to people whose abilities may not match that power, which is what we're seeing in politics and finance today: powerful but neurotic and corrupt sales people take over our society and abuse their position for personal reward. Most of them should pick turnips out on the fields and not deal with money at all. Even more, when we're able to satisfy all of our needs (and all of them are materialistic, which is deficient in the first place), we lose the will to strive toward goals in life and fulfill our destiny, which makes us restless and and leads to us finding interest in the extremities that wealth offers. Ever wondered why the richest people also have the most deranged of sexual perversions?