Apollo CEO Leon Black Paid Epstein $158 Million for "Tax Advice." The DOJ Files Show What He Really Got.
The billionaire who claimed he barely knew Jeffrey Epstein actually paid him more money than some small countries' entire GDP.
Leon Black, the co-founder and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, has always maintained the same story: yes, he paid Jeffrey Epstein for financial advice. Yes, it was a lot of money. But it was all legitimate tax planning.
The newly released DOJ files suggest something far more troubling.
Documents show Black didn't just pay Epstein for advice—he was one of the convicted pedophile's biggest clients by a factor of ten, funneling $158 million through a web of offshore accounts between 2012 and 2017. That's more than the entire GDP of Tuvalu.
The Wire Transfers
The payments weren't small consulting fees. They were massive wire transfers, often made through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands.
Reference: LB Family Trust - Advisory Services Q1
Beneficiary: Gratitude America Ltd, Road Town, Tortola BVI
Twenty-six million dollars. In a single quarter. For "advisory services." And this was just one of dozens of similar transfers.
"He Knows Where All The Bodies Are Buried"
Perhaps most damning is an internal email from Black's own office, sent to his chief of staff in 2015:
We need to keep Jeffrey happy. He knows where all the bodies are buried when it comes to the family trusts. The Monaco restructuring alone saved us $47M. Whatever he asks for, make it happen.
"He knows where all the bodies are buried." An unfortunate turn of phrase, given what we now know about Epstein's crimes.
The Art Collection
The documents also reveal that Epstein helped Black move his billion-dollar art collection through various offshore entities to avoid taxes. Pieces by Picasso, Monet, and ancient artifacts were shuffled between trusts based on Epstein's recommendations.
One email shows Black thanking Epstein for "the brilliant Byzantine collection strategy—moving those pieces through BVI before the French auction saves us $23 million easy."
$158 million for tax advice. From a convicted sex offender. After his first conviction. Sure.