00:001 Intro

00:27 From Heiress To Felon: How Clare Bronfman Wound Up In NXIVM

Clare Bronfman poured over $100 million into Nxivm—which prosecutors call a fraudulent, pyramid organization—over 15 years. But how did an heiress to the multibillion-dollar Seagram’s fortune become central to what’s been called a notorious sex cult? It was enormous wealth, close observers of their time with Nxivm say, that made the Bronfman sisters such irresistible targets of the group’s budding guru, Keith Raniere, who was convicted of all charges against him on June 19, 2019.

12:03 When A Texas Multimillionaire Stood Trial For Murder

Priscilla Davis, a platinum-blonde mother of three, arrived home late on a Monday night in 1976. It was a beautiful home, appointed with high ceilings, an indoor pool and picture frames hemmed with leopard skin or gold. There was a man in the kitchen. He was dressed in black and disguised in a women’s wig. “Hi,” the man said. Then he shot her in the chest.

Priscilla screamed loud enough to beckon her lover, Stan Farr, from the master bedroom. Farr lumbered toward the kitchen as quickly as a 6-foot-9 man could move, where he encountered the intruder, who shot him twice. As he crumpled to the floor, Farr and Priscilla locked eyes. Two more shots rang out, and Farr was dead. As she recounted later to law enforcement, Priscilla pleaded for her life.

She believed the killer to be Cullen Davis, her estranged husband of seven years and an oilman worth at least $250 million. They were in the midst of a messy divorce, and for the moment, she occupied their $4 million mansion in Fort Worth, Texas. But who was Cullen Davis? And how did an American multimillionaire become the prime suspect in such a horrific crime?

21:43 Tobacco Heiress Doris Duke And The Death Of Eduardo Tirella

Doris Duke was tall, blonde, beautiful, and rich: a tabloid staple. She was the daughter and only child of tobacco titan, James Duke, born in the early 1900s. The Duke family was one of the richest in America at the time, and the public knew Doris as a socialite, yes, but also as a generous philanthropist who started a foundation in her name.

So, when news broke that Doris might have intentionally killed her best friend, Eduardo Tirella, the public saddled up for the trial of the century. Justice would be swift for Doris, they thought, but they’d be wrong. This is the story of Doris Duke and the «unfortunate accident» that took place on October 7th, 1966.

28:08 How A Du Pont Heir Avoided Jail Time For A Heinous Crime

The du Pont family history goes back to the French Revolution. Now, the family is huge. Around 4,000 members share the $16 billion family fortune. They’ve had notable members, like Pete du Pont, the former governor of Delaware; but they’ve also had their share of criminals, like John du Pont, who was found guilty of the murder of David Schultz, the Olympian gold medalist, and Robert Richards, whose story we explore in this episode of Dark Capital.

On February 6, 2009, Robert Richards admitted to raping his 3-year-old daughter. “I feel horrible,” he told the judge, according to court documents. “There’s no excuse for what I’ve done to her.”

His lawyer, calling the 6-foot-4, roughly 300-pound Richards “a somewhat gentle person,” argued he “would not fare well” in jail. Hours later, Richards walked away from Delaware Superior Court a free man. He pleaded guilty to a charge of rape in the fourth degree, paid a fine of $4,395 and promised to attend a high-end treatment center in Massachusetts.

Read the full stories on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/dark-capital/#5ec77ed354c9

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Dark Capital: Episodes 1-4 | Forbes