Ex-Apollo CEO Leon Black says Jeffrey Epstein duped him out of more than $60 million

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Fri Jun 26, 2026, 09:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNBC

Published Fri, Jun 26 2026 8:49 AM EDT Updated 3 Min Ago


Former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black, in prepared testimony for a House committee on Friday, said notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein duped him out of more than $60 million in financial advisory fees by falsely claiming that they were tax-deductible.

Black says he had no involvement in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and did not pay him for access to women. He said that he was misled by Epstein’s Jekyll-and-Hyde personality in a prepared opening statement, which was shared with CNBC.

Black is set to be interviewed later Friday morning by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has been investigating Epstein’s ties to many wealthy and influential individuals. “I come here today voluntarily to set the record straight about my relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and, in particular, why I paid him the money I did,” Black says in his prepared statement.

“Let me state unequivocally that I have never abused a woman,” Black says. “I have never been with an underage woman. I have never engaged in sex trafficking. I have never paid Epstein for access to women,” he says. “I was never blackmailed by Epstein. I was not involved with, and had no knowledge of, any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/26/leon-black-jeffrey-epstein-house-oversight-committee.html

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Article updated.

Original article -

Published Fri, Jun 26 2026 8:49 AM EDT Updated 2 Min Ago


Former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black in prepared testimony for a House committee on Friday said notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein duped him out of more than $60 million in financial management fees.

Black also said that he was misled by Epstein’s Jekyll-and-Hyde personality in a prepared opening statement, which was shared with CNBC.

Black is set to be interviewed later Friday morning by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has been investigating Epstein’s ties to many wealthy and influential individuals.

“I come here today voluntarily to set the record straight about my relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and, in particular, why I paid him the money I did,” Black says in his prepared statement.


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[PatSeg]

1. $60 million in financial management fees???

Okay, now that truly is obscene wealth.

[Bengus81]

3. And....very hard to believe

[PatSeg]

11. Absolutely

He should be embarrassed to admit that publicly.

[hookaleft]

2. I heard he likes little boys

Can't wait for the investigation of Zorro Ranch

[mercuryblues]

4. Cool story Jan.

Another CEO duped by Epstein.

He also never reported the theft/embezzlement by Epstein?

I could use a few million dollars, what's his phone number?

[dave99]

12. Just catch him with a 12 year old ...

[Wonder Why]

5. So he lost $60M because of deductions? Good! I hope he loses the rest of his money, too. Had he donated that

money to charity instead of giving it to Trump and Epstein, he could have helped a lot of people - and gotten a legitimate deduction.

May he join Trump and Epstein in hell.

[purr-rat beauty]

6. Tough shit...

....we don't care about your money fuckface

We care about the poor victims that you may have harmed physically or did harm through financing.

[radical noodle]

7. He apparently paid Epstein a total of around $170M

for "financial advice" when he himself is a financial expert. They were just talking about this on Stephanie Rhule's show. Why would he pay a lot of money to anyone for financial advice?

[Clouds Passing]

8. ....

[TBF]

9. Cool story, bro

[OC375]

10. And here my wife just said an extra $60 would be great to cover the cat's blood work.

Between rape syndicates and management fees, I guess the 1% have very different problems. Seems like a nasty crowd, too, regardless of the entertainment they provide to us all.

I think I'd take my problems any day over having to deal with these folks to stay rich.

(My cat's fine BTW, she is just sweet and old)

[niyad]

15. Sending pets and scritches for your fur baby!

[yardwork]

13. Yeah, sure.

The CEO of a global financial management firm didn't know the tax implications of financial management fees?

This is a worse excuse than Bill Gates'. What's next: my dog made me give money to Epstein?

[Wiz Imp]

14. " I was not involved with, and had no knowledge of, any of Epstein's heinous conduct."

He is lying.

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2026-06-26/billionaire-investor-leon-black-is-set-to-testify-to-congress-about-158m-in-payments-to-epstein

Black maintained Friday that he was not aware of Epstein's “nefarious activity” until 2019 and that he paid Epstein for legitimate purposes, in part due to his “unrivaled network of relationships” with influential figures.

Black is mentioned repeatedly in files that the Department of Justice has released related to the Epstein investigation. He also appears in a collection of birthday messages sent to Epstein that were released by the House committee last year, including a poem attributed to him that refers to “Blond, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically.”

A 2021 review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million from 2012 to 2017, after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The review said the payments were for “bona fide tax, estate planning and other related services.”

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., this month referred findings from a nearly four-year investigation into Black to the House committee. In a statement, Wyden said, “Epstein even appears to have acted as a middleman for Black to pay women on Black’s behalf.”

So he wants people to believe that he paid Epstein over $150 million beginning in 2012 and didn't know he was a convicted sex offender? That's Trump level lying. Everyone who had contact with Epstein after 2008 knew he was a convicted sex offender.

99.99999% likely this guy was directly and deeply involved with Epstein's sex trafficking.

[Blue Full Moon]

16. BS

[TeaLeaves]

17. "underage woman" tells me everything I need to know about this guy

n/t because duh

[LetMyPeopleVote]

22. Welcome to DU

[not fooled]

18. Yeah, right

He's a biter, apparently. Some allegations previously released from the Epstein files that the current coverage does not mention:

https://culture.org/art-and-culture/art/epstein-files-allegations-leon-black/]

Allegations in Released Records

Among the newly released materials are what appear to be coded diary entries that, according to accompanying documents, have been translated to reveal allegations of violent abuse. One apparent journal entry describes an incident at Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse:

“There is going to be hell to pay. I ruined their trip and I am dramatic when that fat fuck bit me! He threw me on the floor and blood all over Jeffreys carpet and I am the issue? Who the fuck bites someone?”

The diary’s author also pasted Sylvia Plath’s poem “Stopped Dead” into the notebook, writing “Leon Black” next to the title and underlining several lines containing violent imagery. The entry suggests the author used literary references to process the alleged trauma.

Additional documents include attorney correspondence and notes from phone calls summarizing accusations from multiple alleged victims. A set of notes describes claims that “Black bites parts of her vagina, violence was arousing for him, very painful for her,” and alleges the rape of a 16-year-old with developmental disabilities. The documents indicate the alleged incidents occurred at Epstein’s Manhattan residence.

[Buddyzbuddy]

19. That's a very specific denial. What about boys or males in regards to Epstein?

[AllaN01Bear]

20. such "fine people " that epstien

[patphil]

21. Leon Black didn't know that the fees weren't tax deductable?

That's something I wouldn't know, but then I'm not the CEO of a $70 billion company that manages over $900 billion in assets.
He may not have known exactly what Epstein did, but that's probably because he deliberately closed his eyes to Epstein's activities. As long as his business was doing well, there wasn't any need to look too deeply into things that would have upset the apple cart.

[howardmappel]

23. Bull

As if Leon didn't have the best tax accountants and tax lawyers at his beck and call. No, he would rather rely on tax advice from someone who is not an accountant, not a tax lawyer, not someone registered with the IRS in any manner (except possibly as someone who was involved in tax evasion schemes) and not someone nationally recognized as a tax expert. Total fucking bullshit. If that is Mr. Black's story, he should be able to show all the communications, memorandums, worksheets, proposals, and tax filings implementing Epstein's tax advice, including all communications, etc. with real tax professionals explaining why Epstein's tax advice was nonsensical.

Show your proof Leon. And don't say the dog ate your homework. Hedge fund folks keep all their tax and related paperwork forever because they know they might/should be audited by the IRS.

[Raftergirl]

24. He's all over the files. So much disgusting and perverted stuff. It's all there if one takes the time to read

everything that has already been released.

[hookaleft]

25. Yeah. He is innocent. That's why he abruptly bailed on his congressional hearing

refusing to answer questions. It is being reported that the committee actually had to produce subpoenas mid hearing to get him to answer questions. And he refused and ran out like the chickenshit he is.

Money man Leon Black refuses to cooperate, abruptly leaves Congressional hearing

The House Oversight Committee took the unusual step yesterday of issuing subpoenas mid-hearing to force an uncooperative witness — Jeffrey Epstein’s former client Leon Black — to answer questions about secret out-of-court legal settlements he may have made with young women.

Black, who has denied any wrongdoing and insists he didn’t know about Epstein’s crimes, abruptly left the hearing after the Committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, issued the subpoenas during the closed-door meeting on Friday.

Black’s quick exit has to make one wonder just how many young women he made settlements with, especially since he also paid Epstein over $170 million for what his lawyer called “tax and estate planning services” — and in 2023, he also paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands over his ties to Epstein, who owned an island where Epstein sexually abused an untold number of victims.

Black did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the USVI settlement, but it raises questions about why he would pay such a sum if he had nothing to hide.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-203573870

[NoMoreRepugs]

26. If true he's a moron, if a lie he's a pedophile, either way a douche.

[UpInArms]

27. Fukking liar

He’s dirty dirty dirty

[walkingman]

28. The ties to Trump are not by chance....

Apollo Global Management shares deep ties with the Trump administration through high-level personnel appointments, policy influence, and strategic investments.
Key intersections between the alternative asset manager and the administration include:

• Cabinet and Agency Appointments: President Trump appointed Apollo Board Chair Jay Clayton as the top federal prosecutor for Manhattan. Additionally, Trump nominated Ben Black—son of Apollo co-founder Leon Black and a former Apollo associate—as CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
• Treasury Consideration: Apollo CEO Marc Rowan was extensively interviewed by President Trump for the position of Treasury Secretary.
• Higher Education Policy: Rowan emerged as a central figure shaping the Trump administration's "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education," leading pressure campaigns to overhaul university administration and combat antisemitism and pro-Palestinian activism on campuses.
• Financial Alignments: Apollo has expressed strong optimism regarding the administration's market-friendly, deregulatory stance, and showed interest in acquiring debt tied to Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform X.

[Prairie Gates]

29. Put this pedophile trashbag under the goddamn jail