Leon Black
KEY THREATS:
Private Equity Healthcare Vulture Epstein Financial Enabler For-profit education profiteer Data Center Investor How close is Leon Black’s to Jeffrey Epstein? Close enough to be Jeffrey Epstein’s “greatest source of income after 2012” according to the New York Times. Close enough that he paid U.S. Virgin Islands $62.5 million in exchange for being released by the U.S. Virgin Islands from claims related to Epstein. And close enough that, unlike many of the other billionaires who were revealed to be tied to Epstein, he actually had to step down from his job.
Of course, what he was doing at the office wasn’t much better. As CEO and co-founder of private equity behemoth Apollo Global Management, Black made his billions stripping apart everything from major health and hospital systems to beloved chain Claire’s. He may no longer hold the CEO title, but as of 2024, Black still owned roughly 14% of the company’s shares. So when longtime friend and beneficiary Donald Trump hosted a $250,000 a plate candlelit dinner ahead of his second inauguration, the “disgraced” trader had no problem attending.
NET WORTH
Former Ceo
Apollo Global Management
OTHER COMPANIES
Trustee, Museum of Modern Art, CoFounder, Melanoma Research Alliance,
LINKED TO
Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, Antony "Tony" Ressler, Ben Black, Marc Rowan
AGE
74
STATE
New York
PART OF
Controversies
- Paid $170 million for “tax and estate planning services” to infamous child sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
- Paid U.S. Virgin Islands $62.5 million in exchange for being released by the U.S. Virgin Islands from claims related to Epstein, though as of April 2024 he continued to claim he was oblivious to Epstein's pedophilia.
- Traveled with longtime friend Donald Trump to Moscow in 1996, in a trip that became the subject of scrutiny during investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia.
Obscene Spending
- Attended Donald Trump’s $250,000 a plate, pre-inauguration candlelight dinner in 2025.
Enabling
Private Equity Apocalypse
A rebrand of what used to be called “corporate raiding” or “asset stripping,” private equity firms exploded after the 2008 financial crisis, infiltrated aspects of everyday life ranging from doctors’ practices to newspapers to ambulance companies to public water systems to clothing retailers. Apollo Global Management is one of the largest, executing this playbook on everything beloved retail chains to essential healthcare services and hospitals. Now, Apollo is acquiring data centers and investing in AI expansion, which it calls the “Global Industrial Renaissance.”
Epstein Impunity
Black stepped down as Apollo's CEO and chairman in 2021 after Apollo’s board of directors discovered that he paid $170 million for “tax and estate planning services” to infamous child sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. He Paid U.S. Virgin Islands $62.5 million in exchange for being released by the U.S. Virgin Islands from claims related to Epstein, though as of April 2024 he continued to claim he was oblivious to Epstein's pedophilia. Black held roughly 14% of Apollo’s shares as of 2024.
Trump Administration
Leon Black’s son Ben Black was tapped by Trump in 2025 to be Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Given Ben’s “limited foreign policy and legislative experience,” some attribute his ascension to a paper he co-authored with Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale that was publicly critical of USAID and proposed reallocating its funding to “pro-market” endeavors. A real estate investment trust that Apollo manages provided Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s family’s Kushner Companies with a $184 million loan after Kushner became a senior advisor to Trump.
