MISPLACED LOYALTY

Billionaire Leon Black Wired $50M to Jeffery Epstein After 2008 Conviction, Says Report

The revelation helps shed some light on how Epstein left behind an estate worth more than $600 million when he died last year.

A lot of Jeffrey Epstein’s wealthiest clients deserted him after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl in 2008. But The New York Times has uncovered one billionaire who remained loyal and provided Epstein with tens of millions of dollars in the years after his conviction. Wall Street financier Leon Black reportedly wired at least $50 million to Epstein between 2012 and 2017—though the figure could be as high as $75 million. The Times couldn’t establish exactly what Black was paying for, but a spokeswoman for Black said Epstein provided “personal trusts and estates planning advice as well as family office philanthropy and investment services.” The spokeswoman said Black now “deeply regrets” working with Epstein. The revelation helps shed some light on how Epstein left behind an estate estimated at more than $600 million when he died, despite major clients cutting him off after the 2008 conviction.