A man dubbed “Palm Beach Pete” is drawing widespread attention online after a viral video showed him cruising through South Florida in a convertible—prompting immediate comparisons to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and reigniting long-running internet chatter.
The footage, originally posted by Florida resident Andrew Posey and later amplified by the OnlyInFlorida Instagram account, shows a middle-aged man wearing a white baseball cap backward and sunglasses, behind the wheel of a top-down convertible.
The clip quickly gained traction across social media, racking up thousands of likes and shares as users fixated on the driver’s resemblance to Epstein.
As the video circulated, online users began referring to the unidentified man as “Palm Beach Pete,” a nickname that spread alongside the footage. Despite the attention, there has been no confirmation of the driver’s identity, and no evidence linking him to Epstein.
Reports from outlets including Newsweek noted that the individual is most likely a lookalike, despite ongoing theories that Epstein is, in fact, alive and hiding out at his Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.
The Instagram repost included on-screen text reading, “Epstein out here in South Florida,” which helped fuel the clip’s rapid spread. Commenters appeared divided, with some claiming the resemblance was striking, while others dismissed it as a coincidence common among men of a similar age and appearance in the region.
The renewed attention comes years after Epstein’s death in August 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, where he was being held on federal sex-trafficking charges. The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging, a finding supported by subsequent federal reviews.
