What are the Paradise Papers?

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — A massive new trove of leaked records is shining light on how the world's richest are sheltering their wealth offshore.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reports that the Paradise Papers are a leak of 13.4 million papers covering people's finances from 1950 to 2016, mostly from offshore law firm Appleby and the company registries of 19 tax havens.

Appleby's clients include both people and companies, from countries like the UK, China, and Hong Kong. The majority, however, are from the U.S., numbering at least 30,000.

The leaked documents detail how firms like Appleby help clients stash money and assets in offshore tax havens, to avoid paying high taxes.

The exposé comes from the same German newspaper that outed last year's Panama Papers, and reveals the secret dealings of numerous individuals and companies, including the Queen of England, and Facebook.

The Queen's private estate had invested nearly 10 million pounds in a Cayman Islands fund, some of which had gone to a company accused of exploiting the poor.

Facebook and Twitter, meanwhile, received investments that were traced to Russian state institutions. The funds had gone through a business associate of Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Most of these transactions and accounts are perfectly legal, but whether they are fair or moral is another matter entirely.