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Bronfman, NXIVM, and Beyond: Fiji's Wakaya Island, Epstein and The Twisted Elite Underbelly

The Bronfman family has built a notable history through business success and philanthropy, a legacy shaped over generations. This narrative shifted with Clare Bronfman’s significant involvement in NXIVM, an organization that transitioned from self-help to criminal activity, and her acquisition of Wakaya Island, which tied into NXIVM’s broader operations. This article outlines the Bronfman family’s origins, Clare’s role in NXIVM, the group’s key members, connections to Jeffrey Epstein, and the strategic use of Wakaya Island, providing a detailed look at their interconnected stories.

The Bronfman Roots: From Immigrant to Empire

The Bronfman lineage traces back to Samuel Bronfman, born in 1891 in what is now Belarus. Arriving in Canada in 1905 to escape persecution, he founded the Seagram Company in 1924, leveraging Prohibition-era demand to establish a leading liquor business. Alongside his wife, Saidye Rosner Bronfman, a dedicated philanthropist, he created the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation in 1952 to support education and the arts. Their four children—Minda, Phyllis, Edgar Sr., and Charles—continued this tradition of enterprise and community service.

Edgar Bronfman Sr., born in 1929 in Montreal, led Seagram from 1971, expanding its reach with acquisitions like Universal Studios before its $30 billion sale to Vivendi in 2000. As President of the World Jewish Congress from 1979 to 2007, he facilitated Soviet Jewish emigration and secured billions in Holocaust restitution. Among his seven children, Clare and Sara, born to his third wife, Rita Thieriot, later became linked to NXIVM, diverging from his legacy.

NXIVM: From Self-Help to Criminal Enterprise

NXIVM was established in 1998 by Keith Raniere (“Vanguard”) and Nancy Salzman (“Prefect”) near Albany, New York, as a multi-level marketing company offering “Executive Success Programs” for personal and professional development. Over two decades, it attracted over 16,000 participants, relying on high course fees and a recruitment-based structure. Clare Bronfman joined in 2003 and became a major contributor, investing an estimated $150 million and serving on the executive board.

Beneath its surface, NXIVM concealed severe abuses. The secret DOS subgroup (“Master Over Slave Women”), uncovered in 2017, branded women with Raniere’s initials, coerced them into sexual servitude, and controlled them through “collateral” such as compromising photos. Clare’s financial support enabled this system, funding legal actions against critics and Raniere’s lifestyle. The organization collapsed in 2018 when Raniere was arrested in Mexico, with a 2019 trial convicting him of sex trafficking and racketeering, resulting in a 120-year sentence.

Clare Bronfman’s Crimes and Sentencing

Clare’s involvement extended beyond funding. In 2019, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain—using undocumented workers for NXIVM—and fraudulent use of identification, linked to a bank account opened with a deceased person’s identity. Though not directly charged with DOS’s sex trafficking, her resources and leadership amplified NXIVM’s impact. In 2020, Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced her to six years and nine months, acknowledging her role in the group’s harm. Edgar Sr., who died in 2013, had called NXIVM a “cult” in a 2003 Forbes interview, a caution his daughters disregarded.

NXIVM’s Leadership

NXIVM’s membership included prominent individuals and broader participants:

Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman: The founders defined its direction; Salzman received three and a half years for racketeering conspiracy.

Sara Bronfman: Clare’s sister provided early funding but faced no charges after withdrawing. She flew with Jeffrey Epstein to Palm Beach in 2006, before his 2008 conviction, per flight logs (Rolling Stone: Inside NXIVM, the Sick Cult That Preys on the Vulnerable).

- Allison Mack: Known for Smallville, she recruited for DOS, pleaded guilty to racketeering, and served three years.

- Lauren Salzman: Nancy’s daughter and a DOS member, she avoided prison by testifying against Raniere.

- India Oxenberg: Branded in DOS, she later shared her story in Seduced.

Nicki Clyne: A loyalist who avoided charges but supports Raniere.

- Emiliano Salinas: Son of a former Mexican president, he oversaw NXIVM’s Mexico operations without prosecution.

Most members—business professionals, actors, and everyday individuals—were unaware of the inner circle’s abuses, with DOS involving 50–100 women, about 20 branded.

Wakaya Island: NXIVM’s Pacific Outpost

Clare Bronfman’s acquisition of Wakaya Island, a 3.1-square-mile Fijian retreat, added a unique layer to NXIVM’s operations. On August 11, 2016, she purchased 80% of Wakaya Ltd., which controls most of the island, for $47 million from Canadian businessman David Gilmour, founder of Fiji Water and the Wakaya Club & Spa. Bronfman, who already owned a home there, aimed to develop a resort to rival Gilmour’s luxury destination, known for hosting figures like Bill Gates and Nicole Kidman, according to her attorney Susan Necheles.

Wakaya’s role in NXIVM extended beyond real estate. The island hosted retreats for NXIVM leaders and loyalists, including Raniere, who visited in 2016 with Clare and Sara Bronfman, as reported in The New York Times. Some speculated it was a potential refuge for Raniere as scrutiny mounted, though he was arrested in Mexico in 2018 before any such plan materialized. NXIVM also used Wakaya to project exclusivity, leveraging its idyllic setting to attract wealthy members and reinforce Raniere’s mystique. After Clare’s 2019 conviction, her stake in Wakaya remained part of her financial portfolio, though its operational ties to NXIVM ceased with the group’s collapse.

Links to Epstein

The Bronfmans intersected with Jeffrey Epstein in two instances. Sara Bronfman’s 2006 flight with Epstein to Palm Beach, documented in flight logs, occurred before his 2008 conviction, suggesting a social acquaintance (Rolling Stone). Separately, Charles Bronfman, Edgar Sr.’s brother and a Seagram co-chairman, appears in Epstein’s black book, publicized in 2019 with contact details, indicating a likely social or business link (New York Post: Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘black book’ reveals famous names). Charles had no NXIVM involvement, and no direct connection ties Epstein to the group’s crimes, but these links highlight the family’s elite networks.

Conclusion

The Bronfman family’s rise—from Samuel Bronfman’s liquor empire to Edgar Sr.’s command of Seagram and Jewish advocacy—once embodied calculated ambition and clout. Clare Bronfman’s descent into NXIVM gutted that legacy, her $150 million fortune propping up a cult that branded women through DOS, trafficked them under a flimsy empowerment banner, and wielded blackmail to cement control, as Raniere’s 2019 conviction exposed. Wakaya Island, snapped up for $47 million in 2016, towers as a garish monument to her wealth’s role in NXIVM’s machinery—its seclusion a twisted echo of the cult’s hidden rot, even absent direct trafficking there. The family’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein—Sara’s 2006 ride on his plane, Charles’s entry in his black book—plunge them into the deep, disgusting world of the elite, a realm where scandal festers unchecked, though no criminal link binds them directly. With Raniere locked in for 120 years and Clare caged for six years and nine months for her proven complicity, the Bronfman name sinks from prominence into a mire of exploitation, forever stained by its brush with this privileged underbelly.

Huma Abedin to Hillary Clinton, forwards a message about U.S. Jewish leaders criticizing a West Bank report, mentioning Edgar Bronfman among other signatories.

An email to Podesta regarding Edgar Bronfman