--- alias: - Leon David Black - Leon D. Black born: 1951-07-31 category: Organized Crime created: 2026-06-20 location: New York, New York relations: - end: 2021-03-22 fn: 19 role: chairman and chief executive start: 1990 type: head_of with: '[[Apollo Global Management]]' - end: 2017 fn: 4 role: fees for tax and estate advice paid to Southern Trust Company start: 2012 type: funded with: '[[Jeffrey Epstein]]' - fn: 4 role: 10 million dollar donation start: 2015-10 type: funded with: '[[Gratitude America]]' - fn: 4 reverse: true role: outside counsel to Black and the family office type: represented with: '[[Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison]]' - fn: 9 reverse: true role: counsel before the Senate Finance Committee start: 2026 type: represented with: '[[Hogan Lovells]]' - fn: 2 reverse: true start: 2022-06 type: investigated with: '[[Senate Finance Committee]]' summary: Apollo Global Management co-founder who wired Jeffrey Epstein about 158 to 170 million dollars from 2012 to 2017 for tax and estate advice, left Apollo in 2021, and paid the Virgin Islands 62.5 million dollars. tags: - Person - LeonBlack - JeffreyEpstein - Apollo - PrivateEquity - TaxAvoidance - DarkMoney - Finance updated: 2026-09-25 --- Leon Black (born July 31, 1951) is an American private-equity financier who co-founded [Apollo Global Management](/organizations/apollo-global-management/) in 1990 and ran it until 2021. He paid [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/) approximately 158 million dollars between 2012 and 2017 for tax, trust, and estate-planning advice, a sum that the review commissioned by Apollo's board found "far exceeded any amounts Black paid to his other professional advisors" and that the Senate Finance Committee called "inexplicably large," and which was tied to structures that the committee said helped Black avoid more than one billion dollars in federal gift and estate taxes. The wires came from Black's accounts at [Bank of America](/organizations/bank-of-america/), which reported them to the Treasury as suspicious only in February 2020, after Epstein's death. The relationship forced Black's resignation as Apollo's chief executive and chairman in 2021, drew a four-year Senate investigation, and ran alongside a 62.5 million dollar payment to end a Virgin Islands inquiry and separate, denied sexual-assault allegations.[^1][^2][^3][^4][^5] ### Drexel and the Founding of Apollo Black is the son of Eli Black, the chief executive of the food conglomerate United Brands (later [Chiquita](/organizations/united-fruit-company/)), who died by suicide in 1975 during the "Bananagate" foreign-bribery scandal in which United Brands was found to have paid bribes to officials in Honduras. Leon Black earned a degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and joined the investment bank [Drexel Burnham Lambert](/organizations/drexel-burnham/), where he became head of mergers and acquisitions and worked closely with the junk-bond financier [Michael Milken](/people/michael-milken/). Drexel collapsed into bankruptcy in 1990 after the federal securities-fraud case against Milken and the firm.[^6] Out of Drexel's wreckage, Black co-founded Apollo in 1990 with the former Drexel colleagues Josh Harris and [Marc Rowan](/people/marc-rowan/) (the early partnership also included Tony Ressler, who later founded Ares Management). Apollo built its early returns on distressed debt and leveraged buyouts and grew into one of the largest alternative-asset managers in the world, with hundreds of billions of dollars under management across private equity, credit, and the annuities insurer Athene, and a 2011 listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Black served as chairman and chief executive and became one of the wealthiest people in American finance, as well as a prominent art collector and the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art.[^6] ### The Epstein Payments Black retained Epstein for financial advice beginning around 2012, several years after Epstein's 2008 Florida sex-offender conviction. Between 2012 and 2017 Black paid Epstein about 158 million dollars in a series of installments; the Senate Finance Committee later described the figure as roughly 170 million dollars over the five-year period when related items were included. Epstein was neither a licensed tax attorney nor a certified public accountant, and the rates Black paid him were, in the Senate committee's account, about thirty times what Black paid the elite tax and estate advisers he already employed.[^1][^2][^3] Black has said the payments were for advice on trust and estate planning, tax matters, and the operation of his family office. The central transaction concerned a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) that Black had established in 2006; Epstein devised a structure that, according to the review commissioned by Apollo, helped resolve a potential tax liability and keep wealth out of Black's taxable estate as he transferred as much as two billion dollars to his children. The size and structure of the payments, and the question of what a convicted sex offender with no professional tax credentials actually provided, became the subject of the Apollo review and the Senate investigation.[^1][^2] Black and Epstein were introduced in the mid-1990s by a mutual friend. In 1997 Black appointed Epstein one of the initial directors of the [Black Family Foundation](/organizations/black-family-foundation/); Epstein resigned in mid-2007, but the foundation's IRS Form 990 returns for 2008 through 2012 continued to list him, an error the Dechert report called an oversight. Black said he was further impressed that [David Rockefeller](/people/david-rockefeller/) had appointed Epstein to the board of Rockefeller University, and that Epstein introduced him to researchers at [Harvard University](/organizations/harvard-university/) and the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](/organizations/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/). Black knew of Epstein's 2008 guilty plea and told the Dechert investigators that Epstein had described it as involving a single masseuse who used false identification to claim she was over 18.[^4] According to the Dechert report, Epstein told Black that he generally charged clients 40 million dollars a year, but agreed to do the initial trust work for 23.5 million dollars, paid to [Southern Trust Company](/organizations/southern-trust-company/) in two installments, the first of 15 million dollars on February 15, 2013. The arrangement was renegotiated in early 2014, bringing the 2013 total to 50 million dollars. Black paid 70 million dollars for 2014, without written service agreements, for work on the trusts, taxes, audits, art, the family office, and advice on yachts and aircraft; 30 million dollars for 2015, of which 20 million was for a "Step-Up Basis Transaction"; nothing for 2016, amid a fee dispute; and 8 million dollars for 2017 for "tax advisory and compliance advice." Black told Apollo's investors that he paid Epstein "a fee roughly equivalent to 5% of the value he generated on an after-tax basis and not tied to hourly rates."[^4][^7] The Senate Finance Committee's accounting, drawn from bank records, differs. Its table of wires from Black's Bank of America accounts lists 5.5 million dollars in 2012, 50 million in 2013, 70 million in 2014, 30 million in 2015, 6.3 million in 2016 and 8 million in 2017, a total of 169.8 million dollars in eighteen wires, generally of 8 to 10 million dollars each, including one of 20 million dollars in July 2014. About 140 million dollars went in 2013 through 2015 to Southern Trust's accounts at [Deutsche Bank](/organizations/deutsche-bank/), and other wires went to [Financial Trust Company](/organizations/financial-trust-company/) accounts at [JPMorgan Chase](/organizations/jpmorgan-chase/). The accounts that sent the money were held by Black, his wife [Debra Black](/people/debra-black/), Black Family Partners L.P., Narrows Holdings LLC, the family office Elysium Management, and one other individual.[^5] A forensic accountant retained by the [U.S. Virgin Islands](/organizations/government-of-the-united-states-virgin-islands/) in its suit against JPMorgan found that Southern Trust, which had obtained territorial tax benefits by representing that it provided "biomedical and financial informatics" services, reported about 184 million dollars in revenue from 2013 to 2017, of which "$158 million or approximately 85% was from a single source, Leon Black"; the Senate committee, using Bank of America's filings, put Black's share at 166 million dollars, or 90 percent.[^5][^8] In a June 2026 letter, Wyden compared these sums with Black's other advisers. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, his regular counsel, was paid 1,979,761.41 dollars for estate-planning and family-office work in 2013 and 2014, when Black paid Epstein about 120 million dollars; the lawyers who drafted Black's grantor retained annuity trusts and remainder trusts were Carlyn McCaffrey and Ada Clapp. Wyden calculated Epstein's fees at 23 to 26 million dollars a year, above the 15.9 million dollar median pay of a Fortune 500 chief executive in 2021.[^9][^10] Documents from the [Justice Department](/organizations/department-of-justice/)'s Epstein releases cited by Wyden include a 2013 Epstein instruction to "send Leon wire instructions for 15 million dollars," a 2014 confirmation from Epstein's accountant of a 20 million dollar wire from Black, and a 2015 note from Deutsche Bank bankers that another 20 million dollars from Black had "hit" Epstein's accounts.[^9] ### The Dechert Report and the Tax Structures Facing investor and press scrutiny over the Epstein relationship, Black asked Apollo's board on October 20, 2020 for an outside review, and the board's three-member Conflicts Committee retained the law firm [Dechert](/organizations/dechert/) LLP, which delivered a memorandum dated January 22, 2021 that Apollo filed with the [Securities and Exchange Commission](/organizations/securities-and-exchange-commission/) on January 25, 2021. Dechert reviewed more than 60,000 documents from Black, Apollo, the family office and Paul Weiss, with Milbank acting as Apollo's counsel, and interviewed more than twenty witnesses. It documented the 158 million dollars in payments, concluded that the fees were for legitimate tax and estate-planning work, reported that Black and witnesses believed Epstein's advice had conferred between one and two billion dollars in value, and found "no evidence that Black or any employee of the Family Office or Apollo was involved in any way with Epstein's criminal activities."[^1][^4][^11] The central project concerned a 2006 grantor retained annuity trust set up by a trusts-and-estates lawyer whom Epstein had recommended. By 2012 the structure carried a risk of an estate-tax assessment that a former family-office employee and outside counsel put at about 500 million dollars, and that witnesses said could reach one billion dollars or more; outside counsel called Epstein's solution a "grand slam." In the fall of 2015 Epstein claimed credit for a "Step-Up Basis Transaction" involving loans between Black and family trusts, estimated that it saved 600 million dollars, and demanded 60 million dollars, a tenth of the saving; Black paid 20 million dollars. The dispute over that fee led to the break between the two men between 2016 and 2018. Separately, in early 2017 Black lent Epstein 22.5 million and 8 million dollars through his entity BV70 LLC to Epstein's Plan D LLC in connection with an art transaction; after Black demanded repayment in early 2018, Epstein repaid 10 million dollars, and the balance was outstanding when he died. Black also gave 10 million dollars to Epstein's charity [Gratitude America](/organizations/gratitude-america/) in October 2015, and at Epstein's request made donations to MIT, Harvard, the Arizona State University Origins Project and the Peace Initiative Foundation.[^4] Black told the investigators he had visited Epstein's island twice with his wife and children, his Santa Fe ranch once, his Paris residence once for drinks and his Florida house once or twice, had flown on his plane once, and had never spent a night at any Epstein property. Dechert also found that Epstein's Financial Trust Company bought 263,257 shares in Apollo's March 2011 initial public offering through a directed-share program run by the lead underwriter, that the shares passed to [Southern Financial LLC](/organizations/southern-financial-llc/) and were held through at least September 2019, and that Financial Trust Company had invested in AP SHL Investors LLC and AP Technology Partners LLC, vehicles formed by Apollo executives for deals Apollo declined, and alongside Black and his family in Environmental Solutions Worldwide. Black's letter to Apollo's investors on the day of release stated, "Apollo did no business with Mr. Epstein."[^4][^7] The review recorded that some of Epstein's ideas "did not hold up under scrutiny," and that his compensation "far exceeded any amounts Black paid to his other professional advisors." The Senate Finance Committee, reviewing the same payments in July 2023, called them "inexplicably large; well in excess of what Black paid any other financial advisors and far higher than the median compensation of Fortune 500 CEOs at the time," and stated that a transaction Epstein devised to help Black avoid more than one billion dollars in federal taxes raised questions about whether Black had improperly kept billions of dollars out of his taxable estate and might owe substantial gift and estate taxes. Apollo's board accepted the review's findings while announcing governance changes and the leadership transition.[^2][^4][^11] ### The Estate-Planning Checklists Working papers of Black's family office are in the Justice Department's Epstein releases. A "Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring," dated as of October 2, 2013, set out the program in ten parts: a cash-flow plan built on Black's substitution of trust assets for a promissory note, completed on August 15, 2013, with Empire Valuation valuing the Black Family Partners (BFP) interests he acquired; financing options "relating to the asset substitution and existing loans secured by art," soliciting information from Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, with "Preliminary meetings with Deutsche Bank taken"; decanting the 2006 Trust into a 1997 trust and then into a new "Heritage Trust," with an agreement with "DB" or a lease to Black governing his use of the art the trust would hold; restructuring BFP, LDB 2011 LLC and LBF Holdings LLC "to avoid estate inclusion"; a review of prior SEC filings and of "short-swing profit rules"; new private foundations for each of Black's children; the unwinding of split-dollar life insurance; an inventory of Black's art, cane collection, rare books and bronzes, to be provided by Sotheby's; and a "freeze partnership" into which Black would contribute art valued by an outside appraiser. It named "Jib Black" as "the 'second' attorney reviewing the cash flow plan."[^12] On January 21, 2014 Ada Clapp of Black Family Partners, 445 Park Avenue, copying family-office head Eileen Alexanderson, sent Epstein the updated version: "Hi Jeffrey, Attached is what I believe you are referring to by the 9 page list. I updated to show progress."[^13] The January 14, 2014 version opened with the "Settlement of 2006 Trust Accounting," assigning the family office and Apollo to ascertain the sources of the trust's "Trust Accounting Income" and to calculate what "should have been distributed to Leon annually and in the aggregate," marked complete; it listed release and indemnification agreements for the 2006 Trust and GRATs A through K, providing among other things for "Leon's removal as beneficiary," and an action item to "Confirm that John Hannan and Richard Ressler will proceed without separate counsel." Decanting to entities labeled "APO1 and APO2" was recorded "as first step."[^14] A workbook titled "Apollo / Leon Black / Tax Receivable Agreement (TRA) Payment Workbook / Tax Year 2013," dated March 26, 2014, is in the same releases.[^15] On July 24, 2017 one of its recipients forwarded Epstein a "Privileged & Confidential" memorandum on "Leon Black Estate Planning" that Charles T. Dowling of [Sullivan & Cromwell](/organizations/sullivan-cromwell/) had sent on July 12 to Clapp and two others, then in the period of the fee dispute between the two men, adding only: "Let us know what issues you have."[^16] Black has maintained that Epstein's work was lawful tax and estate advice, and the Dechert review found no evidence that he paid for anything else.[^4] ### The Senate Finance Investigation The Senate Finance Committee, under [Ron Wyden](/people/ron-wyden/), who chaired it at the time, opened an investigation into Black's tax planning and his financial ties to Epstein in June 2022, prompted by what it called "inconsistencies" in the Dechert report, publicly confirmed it on July 25, 2023, and pursued it across roughly four years, with Wyden continuing as ranking member after January 2025. The committee examined whether the payments to Epstein were part of a strategy to avoid more than one billion dollars in federal gift and estate taxes through the 2006 GRAT and related trusts, and sought records from Apollo, from Black, and from financial institutions including Bank of America that processed the payments.[^2][^3] The committee's July 2023 release stated that "Black improperly received excess income from Apollo partnership interests held in a trust, assets he indicated to the IRS he no longer owned," that the 2006 trusts had been funded with interests of 30.35 percent in Apollo Management III, IV, V and VI, 26.8 percent in Apollo Investment Management, 26.9 percent in Apollo Value Management, 44 percent in four other Apollo management partnerships, and 142 points in Apollo Advisors VI, that Black's art collection was valued by his own counsel at more than one billion dollars, and that Black had refused to answer questions or produce documents on how Epstein's pay was set. Black's representatives told the committee the [Internal Revenue Service](/organizations/internal-revenue-service/) had not audited any of the transactions or trusts. Black's attorneys also told the committee that the idea behind the step-up transaction "was in the public domain and originated with Black's other legal advisors."[^2] In July 2025 Wyden said Epstein's work for Black deserved an Internal Revenue Service probe, and in 2026 the committee escalated. In March 2026 Wyden questioned Black over new material in the Epstein file releases that he said showed the appearance of "hush money" payments and the surveillance of women, and on June 4, 2026 the committee referred its findings on Black's Epstein ties to the House Oversight Committee. Wyden, with Senator Angus King, also introduced legislation in April 2026 to close the high-value-trust tax loophole the GRAT structure exploited. Black has denied wrongdoing and said his tax planning was lawful.[^2][^17] ### Bank of America and the Suspicious Activity Reports On March 11, 2025 Wyden wrote to Attorney General [Pam Bondi](/people/pam-bondi/), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) Director [Kash Patel](/people/kash-patel/) that the "large U.S. financial institution" holding Black's accounts did not file a suspicious activity report with the [Financial Crimes Enforcement Network](/organizations/financial-crimes-enforcement-network/) until February 2020, about six months after Epstein's death. That report flagged 156 million dollars in wires to Epstein, stating that the activity did "not have a verifiable business purpose," had "no apparent economic, business or lawful purpose," and involved "suspicious use of multiple accounts." A second report in October 2020 flagged two wires the bank had missed, 5.5 million dollars in November 2012 and 8 million dollars in April 2017. Wyden wrote that his staff had found 12 million dollars in wires that the Apollo review did not identify, and that "I have not received any explanation from Black's attorneys as to why the Apollo Board's investigation omitted or failed to identify these $12 million payments or their purpose."[^10] The committee's August 4, 2026 report identified the bank as Bank of America and dated its first report February 7, 2020. It stated that Justice Department records identify Jane Heller as one of Black's principal bankers there, that a 2014 email from Black's family office said "Jane Heller is calling every day for this statement," that an internal Bank of America document noted Heller "already has a relationship with Black that includes a $400MM art secured line," and that the bank made four loans of more than 500 million dollars against Black's art, yacht and jet, including a 484 million dollar loan against his art at 1.43 percent. The head of Black's family office, Eileen Alexanderson, told Epstein that "Jane Heller essentially set this up as a personal loan collateralized by the boat." Wyden wrote to Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan on April 4, 2024; the bank's counsel replied that it would not cooperate without a subpoena. Epstein victims later sued Bank of America, and a deposition of Black in that case was set for March 26, 2026; according to the report, the bank settled with the plaintiffs days before it. The report called Black "Epstein's single largest source of funding" and listed Heller among thirteen bankers whose conduct it said merited investigation; neither Heller nor the bank has been charged.[^5][^18] On June 4, 2026 Wyden referred his findings to the [House Oversight Committee](/organizations/house-committee-on-oversight-and-government-reform/) ahead of Black's deposition there. He wrote that unsealed Justice Department files indicated that Epstein "kept close tabs of women who Black had reached settlements/NDAs with and reached out to Russian government officials to help Black with these so-called problems," and "appears to have acted as a middleman for Black to pay women on Black's behalf, raising concerns of potential money laundering," and that several financial institutions may have violated anti-money-laundering law by failing to report Black's transactions in time. Black's counsel, Aaron Cutler of Hogan Lovells, had written to Wyden on April 13, 2026 that the inquiry concerned a "private citizen's personal life" and was an attempt to "unfairly harass" Black.[^9] ### The Departure from Apollo On January 25, 2021, the same day the Dechert review was released, Apollo announced that Black would retire as chief executive on or before July 31, 2021, with Marc Rowan succeeding him, while Black remained chairman. In his letter to limited partners that day Black wrote that "as I near my 70th birthday this July, I will retire as CEO on or before that date," asked the board to consider cancelling the Class C share that gave the co-founders extra voting rights in favor of "one share, one vote," disclosed that Apollo had engaged [WilmerHale](/organizations/wilmerhale/) to review its reputational-risk practices, and pledged 200 million dollars to initiatives for women, including help for survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking.[^7] On March 22, 2021, Black left abruptly, relinquishing the chairmanship as well and citing health issues affecting him and his wife, and Rowan assumed the role of chief executive. The departure came months earlier than the announced timeline and amid the emerging sexual-assault allegations against Black.[^19] Black publicly blamed his co-founder Josh Harris for what he characterized as a campaign to force him out, and the two men's dispute became an open feud reported across the financial press. Black filed a lawsuit alleging a racketeering conspiracy among Harris, Guzel Ganieva, and others; a federal judge, [Paul Engelmayer](/people/paul-engelmayer/), dismissed that suit with prejudice in 2022, calling the racketeering claims "glaringly deficient in fundamental respects." Rowan consolidated control of Apollo, which in 2026 faced shareholder securities-fraud suits alleging it had concealed the extent of Black's Epstein ties from investors.[^19][^20] ### The Ganieva and Assault Allegations In 2021 Guzel Ganieva, a Russian former model, publicly accused Black of years of sexual abuse, and after Black responded that the two had had a consensual affair and that she had tried to extort him, she sued him in June 2021 alleging sexual assault, including a rape she said occurred in 2014, and defamation. Black denied the allegations. A New York appeals court later ruled for Black on the defamation claim, finding that a 2015 non-disclosure agreement, under which Ganieva had received about nine million dollars including a 100,000-dollar monthly stipend, covered her claims, and that she had ratified the agreement by accepting the money.[^20][^21] In November 2022 Cheri Pierson, a [New Jersey](/places/new-jersey/) woman represented by the Wigdor law firm, sued Black and Epstein's estate under her own name in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that Black assaulted her in early 2002 at Epstein's townhouse after Epstein arranged for her to give Black a massage. The suit was discontinued with prejudice in February 2024 without any payment by Black, who said, "I have never met Ms. Pierson."[^22][^23] A separate federal lawsuit, Doe v. Black, No. 1:23-cv-06418 in the Southern District of New York, filed by Wigdor in July 2023, alleged that Black had raped a then-16-year-old girl with autism at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2002. Black's lawyer, Susan Estrich, said Black had never met the accuser and called the suit a fabrication by Wigdor. In April 2025 Wigdor asked to withdraw as the plaintiff's counsel days before a hearing on whether it should be sanctioned, and Judge Jessica Clarke granted the request. Black has denied every allegation of sexual misconduct.[^22][^24] ### The Virgin Islands Settlement On January 20, 2023 Black signed a settlement agreement with the Government of the [United States Virgin Islands](/places/us-virgin-islands/), countersigned by Acting Attorney General [Carol Thomas-Jacobs](/people/carol-thomas-jacobs/), under which he paid 62.5 million dollars within sixty days to end the territory's claims against him arising from Epstein, without any admission of liability or any criminal charge. Governor [Albert Bryan](/people/albert-bryan/) had removed Attorney General [Denise George](/people/denise-george/) at the end of December 2022, days after she filed the territory's December 27, 2022 suit against JPMorgan, and appointed Thomas-Jacobs, already assigned as an attorney on the JPMorgan case, as acting attorney general effective January 1, 2023; Bryan's office gave no reason and said reports tying the removal to the suit were "not entirely accurate."[^25] The payment came shortly after the estate's own 105 million dollar settlement, while the territory's suit against JPMorgan Chase and victims' suits against JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank were pending.[^26][^27] The agreement's recitals state that "according to public reports, Black paid $158 million over approximately five years to Jeffrey Epstein's Virgin Islands company, Southern Trust," and, as a separate recital, "WHEREAS, Jeffrey Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands." Section III.2 provides that nothing in the agreement is an admission of liability, which Black expressly denies, and that its terms "shall not be cited by any person as evidence of wrongdoing by Black." Wyden later described the recital as an admission that Black's money funded sex trafficking. The territory directed 15 million dollars of the payment to a trust fund for counseling, mental-health and other services for Virgin Islands residents. The release covers "Leon Black, and all of his attorneys and other agents acting within the scope of their authority," and entities he owns or controls, and excludes "JP Morgan Chase or any other financial institution used by Black or Jeffrey Epstein or any current or former employees" of those institutions, and Epstein and his estate. Black agreed not to claim that his payment resolved any individual victim's claims.[^5][^9][^27] The Black settlement was the largest payment by an individual other than the Epstein estate in the Virgin Islands inquiry; JPMorgan's later 75 million dollar settlement with the territory, in September 2023, was larger. It was reported as resolving the territory's potential claims against Black arising from his financial dealings with Epstein. Black continued to manage his personal fortune and his art holdings after leaving Apollo, while the Senate referral and the prospect of an IRS examination of the GRAT structures remained open in 2026.[^2][^26] [^1]: "Leon Black's $158 Million Sent to Epstein Draws Senate Probe." *Bloomberg,* July 25, 2023. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-25/leon-black-s-158-million-payments-to-epstein-spark-senate-probe ; "Billionaire Leon Black made a $158 million payment to Jeffrey Epstein. Senators want to know why." *CNN Business,* July 25, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/business/leon-black-jeffrey-epstein-senate-investigation [^2]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, "Wyden Unveils Ongoing Investigation into Private Equity Billionaire Leon Black's Tax Planning and Financial Ties with Jeffrey Epstein," July 25, 2023. https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-unveils-ongoing-investigation-into-private-equity-billionaire-leon-blacks-tax-planning-and-financial-ties-with-jeffrey-epstein [^3]: "Sen. Ron Wyden wants to know why Leon Black paid Epstein $170 million for tax planning over 5-year period." *CBS News,* 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-ron-wyden-leon-black-paid-epstein-170-million-tax-planning/ [^4]: Dechert LLP, Memorandum to the Apollo Conflicts Committee, "Investigation of Epstein/Black Relationship and Any Relationship Between Epstein and Apollo Global Management, Inc.," January 22, 2021, filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Apollo Global Management, Inc. Form 8-K, January 25, 2021, pp. 1-4, 8-18, 21-22. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex991.htm [^5]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, "Looking the Other Way: How Wall Street Banks Enabled Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking," August 4, 2026, pp. 4, 9-14, 56-61. https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_wall_street_epstein_report.pdf [^6]: For Black's career, the United Brands background, Drexel Burnham Lambert and Michael Milken, and the 1990 founding of Apollo, see the contemporaneous business press and the Apollo corporate record. [^7]: Leon D. Black, Letter to Apollo Limited Partners, January 25, 2021, filed as Exhibit 99.2 to Apollo Global Management, Inc. Form 8-K, January 25, 2021. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411494/000119312521016405/d118102dex992.htm [^8]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), Expert Report of Jorge Amador, ECF No. 238-31 (filed July 25, 2023), report p. 74. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653/gov.uscourts.nysd.591653.238.31.pdf [^9]: Letter from Senator Ron Wyden to Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Robert Garcia, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, regarding Leon Black, June 4, 2026 (citing EFTA00621341, EFTA00396545, EFTA01915809 and EFTA01376741). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden_letter_to_house_oversight_on_leon_black-epstein_060426.pdf ; U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, "Wyden Refers Findings on Leon Black's Epstein Ties to House Oversight Committee," June 4, 2026. https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-refers-findings-on-leon-blacks-epstein-ties-to-house-oversight-committee [^10]: Letter from Senator Ron Wyden to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel, March 11, 2025. https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/wyden-letter-to-doj-treasury-fbi-on-epsteinpdf?download=1 ; U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, "Wyden Releases New Information on Financing of Jeffrey Epstein's Operations by Billionaire Leon Black, Seeks Documents from Trump Administration," March 12, 2025. https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-releases-new-information-on-financing-of-jeffrey-epsteins-operations-by-billionaire-leon-black-seeks-documents-from-trump-administration [^11]: "Apollo Announces Review of Significant Governance Enhancements as Part of Continued Evolution and Institutionalization of the Firm and Leadership Transition." *Apollo Global Management,* January 25, 2021. https://www.apollo.com/insights-news/pressreleases/2021/01/apollo-announces-review-of-significant-governance-enhancements-as-part-of-continued-evolution-and-institutionalization-of-the-firm-and-leadership-transition-211534651 [^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01071282, DataSet 9, "Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring, As of October 2, 2013." https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01071282.pdf [^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00982173, DataSet 9, email from Ada Clapp, Black Family Partners, to Jeffrey Epstein, "6.7.13 Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring-updated 1.14.14," January 21, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00982173.pdf [^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00583490, DataSet 9, "Checklist for Leon Black Estate Planning and Restructuring, As of January 14, 2014." https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00583490.pdf [^15]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00616944, DataSet 9, "Apollo / Leon Black / Tax Receivable Agreement (TRA) Payment Workbook / Tax Year 2013," March 26, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00616944.pdf [^16]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00702518, DataSet 9, email to Jeffrey Epstein, "S&C: Leon Black Estate Planning," July 24, 2017, forwarding a July 12, 2017 email of Charles T. Dowling, Sullivan & Cromwell. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00702518.pdf [^17]: U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, "Wyden Refers Findings on Leon Black's Epstein Ties to House Oversight Committee," June 4, 2026. https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-refers-findings-on-leon-blacks-epstein-ties-to-house-oversight-committee ; "Epstein's Work for Leon Black Deserves IRS Probe, Wyden Says." *Bloomberg,* July 31, 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-31/epstein-s-work-for-leon-black-should-face-irs-probe-wyden-says [^18]: "Leon Black deposition in Epstein accusers' lawsuit against Bank of America delayed," *Reuters,* March 11, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/world/leon-black-could-be-deposed-epstein-accusers-lawsuit-against-bank-america-judge-2026-03-11/ [^19]: "Leon Black quits Apollo months earlier than expected following Jeffrey Epstein investment scandal." *CNBC,* March 22, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/apollo-ceo-leon-black-leaves-follows-jeffrey-epstein-investment-scandal.html ; "Marc Rowan Assumes Role of CEO of Apollo." *Apollo Global Management / GlobeNewswire,* March 22, 2021. [^20]: "Leon Black's Lawsuit Against Josh Harris, Guzel Ganieva Dismissed by Judge." *Bloomberg,* June 30, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-30/leon-black-suit-against-josh-harris-guzel-ganieva-thrown-out [^21]: "Woman's lawsuit accuses Leon Black of defamation, violent behavior." *CNBC,* June 2, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/02/womans-lawsuit-accuses-leon-black-of-defamation-violent-behavior.html ; Ganieva v. Black, New York Appellate Division, First Department (2025). [^22]: "Lawsuit accuses billionaire Leon Black of raping autistic teenager at Jeffrey Epstein's townhouse." *CNBC,* July 25, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/25/leon-black-accused-of-raping-teenager-at-jeffrey-epstein-townhouse.html ; "Woman drops lawsuit against Leon Black alleging rape at Jeffrey Epstein mansion." *CNBC,* February 20, 2024. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/20/woman-drops-claim-of-leon-black-rape-at-jeffrey-epstein-mansion.html [^23]: "Cheri Pierson Files Bombshell Lawsuit Accusing Leon Black of Rape in Jeffrey Epstein Mansion," *The Daily Beast,* November 2022. https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheri-pierson-files-bombshell-lawsuit-accusing-leon-black-of-rape-in-jeffrey-epstein-mansion/ ; "Leon Black Rape Accuser Cheri Pierson Drops Lawsuit Against Billionaire," *The Daily Beast,* February 2024. https://www.thedailybeast.com/leon-black-rape-accuser-cheri-pierson-drops-lawsuit-against-billionaire/ [^24]: Doe v. Black, No. 1:23-cv-06418 (S.D.N.Y.), docket. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67633736/doe-v-black/ ; "Law firm in sexual assault suit against billionaire Leon Black wants to exit case: court records," *AOL,* April 2025. https://www.aol.com/news/law-firm-sexual-assault-suit-222654166.html [^25]: "U.S. Virgin Islands fires attorney general in Jeffrey Epstein cases," *PBS NewsHour / Associated Press,* January 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-virgin-islands-fires-attorney-general-in-jeffrey-epstein-cases ; "Attorney General Denise George Has Been Terminated," *The Virgin Islands Consortium,* December 31, 2022. https://viconsortium.com/vi-government/virgin-islands-attorneygeneral-denise-george-has-been-terminated- [^26]: "Billionaire Leon Black paid $62.5m to exit US Virgin Islands investigation over links to Jeffrey Epstein." *AOL / Agence France-Presse,* 2023. https://www.aol.com/billionaire-leon-black-paid-62-002414707.html [^27]: Settlement Agreement and Release between the Government of the United States Virgin Islands and Leon Black, executed January 20, 2023, sections I, II.A.1-3, III.2, III.5 (as published by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance). https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/usvi_black_settlement_agreement_-_executedpdf.pdf