Mark Epstein

A former artist turned real estate magnate, Mark Epstein raised eyebrows last month by offering up his Florida condo as collateral for his brother’s bail. While he has denied any connection to Jeffrey’s businesses, at least one of Mark’s properties has turned up repeatedly in sex trafficking suits against his older sibling. And his unexplained wealth—he claims to have semi-retired at age 39 and has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity—may come under further scrutiny as the federal conspiracy investigation into his brother’s trafficking ring continues. At the heart of Epstein’s potential financial ties to his brother is his real estate company, Ossa Properties. At one time, Ossa Properties owned more than 500 renter-occupied apartments in four co-op projects in New York City. Ossa Properties also owns a majority stake in 301 East 66th Street—a Manhattan building that was home to many of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates and is alleged by some to be a center of his New York trafficking operation. Mr. Mark Epstein is the Founder of the IZMO Family of Companies. He is also the owner of Dara Partners, LP and Ossa Properties Inc, real estate ownership and management companies of commercial and residential properties. He was a co-founder of King Graphic technologies, Inc, which innovated production of super large format digital outputting. The majority of the Izmo companies were dissolved by 2004. Mr. Epstein is a member of the Board of Directors of The Humpty Dumpty Institute, the Board of Trustees of Exit Art, and the Advisory Committees of the New York String Orchestra Seminar and the Alexander Schneider Concerts at The New School. Mr. Epstein is Chairman of the Board of Trustees at The Cooper Union. He is a former President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Alumni Association and has served on the Nominating Committee, as a Career Counselor and as Class Representative for the School of Art class of 1976. As a past Co-Chair of Phonathon, Epstein has been—and continues to be—instrumental in garnering support for the Annual Fund. He was also the New York City Art Regional Chair for the Campaign for Cooper. In 2002, Mr. Epstein was awarded the Alumnus of the Year Award by The Cooper Union. He stepped down in 2015 after intense criticism of the board’s decision to charge tuition at the formerly free institution. Between 2006 and 2018, Epstein racked up more than $190,000 in tax liens, which generally signify that the recipient did not pay their taxes on time. At the same time, he was trying unsuccessfully to sell his 80-foot, 3 1/2-bathoom yacht. He eventually donated the yacht to a South Carolina marine science charity. It is unclear whether he will inherit his brother’s New York mansion, Florida estate, and Caribbean private island—and how many of his brother’s accusers will have claims to them if he does. Alumni Trustee 2004-2008 Member of the Cooper Union Board 2008-2015 Vice Chairman of the Board: 2007-2009 Chairman of the Board: 2009-2013