WHO IS LEON BLACK?
Leon Black had the closest relationship with Jeffrey Epstein of anyone.
And this is where things get really, really dark.
You see, Leon Black was a biter. "That fat fuck bit me. He threw me on the floor and blood all over Jeffreys carpet," one woman journaled. She wasn't alone.
Leon Black founded Apollo Global Management -- one of the largest private equity firms on earth. $600 billion in assets under management. He was one of the most powerful men on Wall Street for three decades.
He paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million.
No written contract. No invoices. $23-26 million per year to a man who was neither a licensed attorney nor a CPA. When the Senate Finance Committee asked how the payments were calculated, Black refused to answer.
Apollo hired the law firm Dechert to investigate. Their finding: "Epstein was being paid for some reason other than the services he was providing."
667 DOJ documents. Every quote below is verbatim.
Black says he paid Epstein for "professional advisory services." The documents show something else entirely.
Deutsche Bank's internal credit committee: "Leon Black was referred to new AWM banker Paul Morris by Jeffrey Epstein, Black's estate/tax planning attorney." Epstein wasn't advising. He was choosing Black's banks and orchestrating a $1.5 billion estate restructuring.
Deutsche Bank internal email, April 2015: "They confirmed Jeffrey Epstein will have authority to transact on Leon's behalf." The same week, a DB banker processed "additional paperwork to add JE as POA." Power of Attorney. Over a billionaire's bank account. Given to Jeffrey Epstein.
Leon Black's personal assistant emailed Epstein: "I'm sending over the bank statements now - if you have any questions about the deposits, just give me a call." Epstein's instruction: "fed ex to my st thomas office." A billionaire's bank statements -- FedExed to Epstein's island.
In Epstein's files: Black's complete net worth. $5.3 billion. Art: $1.68 billion. Seven trusts named Yggdrasil, Gandalf, Tron, Rollo Tomasi, Mallory. The $1 billion art insurance policy. Epstein had the complete financial X-ray of one of the richest men in America.
Epstein's own employees -- using @epstein.com email addresses -- filed Black's personal taxes. On Epstein's payroll, filing a billionaire's 1040.
The only known email in Black's own words: "I don't think we got a chance to cover about 2/3 of relevant matters including Rowan, etal; plus I am still getting over the unsettling shock of your last 4 page epistle. Maybe we should focus on having some fun for now." Rowan is Marc Rowan -- Apollo's co-founder. Epstein was sending 4-page strategy memos about Apollo's internal politics.
21 wire transfers from Black to Epstein. All routed to "Southern Trust Company Inc" -- Epstein's entity in the U.S. Virgin Islands. When Deutsche Bank's anti-money laundering unit flagged a $22.5 million wire, the compliance inquiry came back: "The purpose of the wire was to pay a fee as Mr. Black is a client of Mr. Epstein. Mr. Epstein is expecting $8-10mn more to come into the account." The wire went from BV70 LLC -- Black's yacht entity -- to Plan D LLC -- Epstein's aircraft entity. $22.5 million from a yacht to a plane.
And money flowed both ways. Black's assistant to Epstein's office: "Leon said thank you for the check, but he said it was supposd to be $1,500,000, so can we have the other $500,000!!!!" Subject line: "MRA check." Four exclamation points.
FBI raid of Little St. James Island, August 2019. Photo log entry: "Leon D. Black financial documents from Room M." Black's financial papers -- physically stored in Epstein's island library.
178 documented meetings and phone calls. One Sunday meeting ran from 10am to 5pm -- seven hours. Staff asked: "did you want to order lunch?" Real-time arrival alerts: "Leon Black will arrive in 5Minutes!" "Leon Black is here!" Black always went TO Epstein. Never the reverse.
All of this happened at the same address. 9 East 71st Street. Jeffrey Epstein's New York townhouse.
The seven-hour Sunday meeting. The bank statements and trust documents. The arrival alerts.
The same townhouse where, according to FBI files, three women describe being violently assaulted by Leon Black.
Three victims. Independent. They never met each other. All describe the same thing -- the same man, the same townhouse, the same act: a violent biting ritual. Three women, years apart, no contact with each other, each independently describing an identical pattern of sexual violence so specific that the victims' attorney told the FBI: "There is nothing publicly out there about the details of his specific sex acts with our client, so there is no way she could know." And: "It is too abnormal to make up."
Victim 3 was a minor. Introduced to Ghislaine Maxwell at age 17. Her mother was complicit -- told her "Leon Black is VIP because he is a special friend of Jeffrey's." She kept a journal. A scrapbook. Contemporaneous.
Page 7: "Walk down Madison Avenue to 71st St. Mr. Black is so important for some reason over my health... that fat fuck bit me! He threw me on the floor and blood all over Jeffreys carpet. Leon can go fuck himself."
She needed medical attention. Bleeding after the assault.
Page 8: a poem. Titled "Leon Black." Underlined words: birth, cry, fatso millionaire, it's violent, goddamm baby screaming, bloody baby, your seven chins, still as a ham.
The FBI examined the journal. Gel pen. Paper aging. "No evidence found for recent fabrication." This is not a lawsuit filing. It is a child's record of what happened to her.
Page 5: "Both he and Larry Summers are fucking disgusting! Andrew is like his brother in this way!"
Page 11: "Even old senators like George Mitchell who you think would be good like a grandpa are bad." The same page names Ted Leonsis, Steve Case, Dan Snyder, Jim Kimsey.
Victim 2 had never met Victim 1. Had never spoken to the attorneys. Had no access to the case file. On August 9, 2021, she cold-called the law firm. She said: "Leon Black raped her violently." She described the identical biting pattern. The identical location. The identical act.
Black paid Victim 1 a total of $1,187,000 between 2012 and 2021. Eight wire transfers. Three progressively obfuscated payment vehicles: first "LEON D BLACK" -- his personal name. Then "THE J BLACK TRUST" -- a family trust. Then "E TRUST" -- an anonymous entity. Each vehicle more anonymous than the last.
June 2023. The subject line of an internal FBI email: "Leon Black/Additional HT Subject Referral -- Update." HT = Human Trafficking. The same month, Black paid a $62.5 million settlement to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The investigation was confirmed still active as of October 16, 2024. FBI New York. Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking unit.
$158,000,000 to Epstein. No contract.
$1,187,000 to a victim. Three trust vehicles.
$62,500,000 to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Settlement.
Total documented outflow connected to Jeffrey Epstein: $221.7 million.
Leon Black told Apollo investors on October 29, 2020: "I deeply regret having had any involvement with Jeffrey Epstein."
He gave Epstein power of attorney over his bank accounts. His bank statements were FedExed to Epstein's island. Epstein's employees filed his taxes. His financial papers were stored in Room M on Little St. James. He met Epstein 178 documented times at the same townhouse where three women describe being assaulted. He paid a victim $1.187 million through three progressively anonymous vehicles. The FBI has an active human trafficking referral with his name on it.
667 DOJ documents. Every quote verbatim.
Full compendium (667 docs, 188 pages): drive.google.com/file/d/1PbYjmS…
Victim report (~307 docs, 18 pages): drive.google.com/file/d/1DaZJbY…
AI-optimized compendium (upload to any LLM and ask it anything): drive.google.com/file/d/1rSrVAk…
AI-optimized victim report: drive.google.com/file/d/1w6p3Pk…
See ya, Leon.
Mike
