After her conviction, let’s call Ghislaine Maxwell what she is – a sex trafficker, not a socialite | Joan Smith

The glamorous past of Epstein's procurer might blind some to her shocking crimes

For years, she was described as a socialite", a word that conceals more than it explains. Socialites are almost always women from a wealthy if not an aristocratic background and their defining characteristic is being photographed with famous people.

Ghislaine Maxwell fitted the bill, appearing in photos with everyone from Donald Trump to Elon Musk to Prince Andrew. But being a socialite is not a job and it was unclear how she financed her opulent lifestyle, especially after the death of her father, Robert.

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