Leon Black’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein stands as one of the most damning scandals to come out of the financier’s world. Despite Epstein’s 2008 conviction as a sex offender, Black—billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management—paid him over $170 million for what he later called “tax and estate planning.” Those claims collapsed under scrutiny, especially after Senator Ron Wyden’s Finance Committee investigation revealed the true scale of the payments and raised questions about whether they were legitimate services or hush money. Black’s evasions, his refusal to provide documentation, and his settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands for $62.5 million only deepened suspicions.

What emerges is not a story of poor judgment, but of complicity. Black was not Epstein’s victim—he was his lifeline, bankrolling him long after his downfall and sustaining his influence in elite circles. The lawsuits accusing Black of sexual assault, coupled with his forced resignation from Apollo, cemented his fall. Yet he remains untouched by criminal charges, shielded by wealth and the systemic failures of regulators, banks, and cultural institutions. Leon Black’s legacy is not one of brilliance on Wall Street but of disgrace: the billionaire who bankrolled a predator and never gave the world an honest explanation why.



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