Jeffrey Epstein's network pulled in famous scientists, celebrities and politicians, and the pattern behind it is bad news for anyone hoping the powerful police themselves.

• Epstein's circle included very high-status names, among them Bill Gates and Noam Chomsky.
• The common thread is not low intelligence — these were people with high IQs and real accomplishments.
• Success and power gradually lift people above ordinary rules until they stop expecting consequences at all.
• Never being punished breeds the belief that any situation can be talked or bought away.

Outlook: Expect more names to surface, and expect the same "it can't touch me" mindset to keep producing scandals at the top.