Leon Black
In her own words:
“I’m not in any way, shape, or form defending Jeffrey,” Black, who knew Epstein since the mid-1990s, told Cohan. “I’m defending me. I don’t believe any of these guys knew that Jeffrey was a pedophile. I certainly didn’t.”
Known for:
His father, Eli M. Black, was a prominent Jewish businessman who owned the United Brand Company, famous for owning Chiquita bananas. Tragically, Eli committed suicide in 1975 by jumping off the 44th floor of New York City's Pan Am Building. Leon was 24 years old at the time. It would later be revealed that Eli was under investigation for bribing Honduran government officials.
Leon Black is married to Debra Ressler, a Broadway producer nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning two. She is also sister of Ares Management co-founder Antony Ressler (he is worth 11.3 billion).
Bloomberg once referred to him as
“the most feared man in the most aggressive realm of finance”
After Drexel filed for bankruptcy in 1990, Leon Black became the cofounder (with colleagues Joshua Harris and Marc Rowan, both of whom are billionaires) of Apollo Global Management. Apollo, a private equity behemoth, manages $650 billion in assets. Like Drexel, Apollo, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, would soon specialize in leveraged buyout transactions and purchases of distressed securities involving corporate restructuring, industry consolidations, and other unique financial situations.
Black was the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art from 2018 to 2021.
Assets:
Business-
-Chairman and later majority owner of the United Brands Company.
-Information derived from SEC filings shows Leon D Black is also the 10% Owner of Environmental Solutions Worldwide Inc and owns about 4,955 shares of Environmental Solutions Worldwide Inc
one of North America's leading companies in aftermarket heavy-duty diesel emissions parts, diesel emission control systems, manufacturing, distribution, and emissions testing services
- Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI)
-Apollo went public in 2011; Black still owns roughly 15% of the company.
-In 2012, Black acquired Phaidon Press, a fine art books publishing house.
-In 2024 Billionaire and co-founder of Apollo Global Management Leon Black has sold shares worth about $172.8 million in the private equity firm, nearly three years after stepping down as its chief executive. A regulatory disclosure showed that he sold 1.55 million shares Feb 2024. Based on the closing price of the stock, he now owns more than 43 million shares worth $4.8 billion in Apollo, whose stock has surged nearly six times since its market debut in 2011. The buyout firm has roughly $651 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31. Black has a net worth of $13.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Real Estate-
New York Upper East Side-
Leon and Debra own an extremely impressive real estate portfolio. Their Manhattan townhouse is worth at least $50 million.
They paid London developer Christian Candy $50.25 million for a 30-room Italian Renaissance-style fixer-upper mansion on New York City’s Upper East Side
Park Ave, NY-
(same as last, or 2nd one for an art gallery?)
His portfolio includes a sprawling, full-floor co-operative apartment in a prestigious Park Avenue building
The Blacks are hammering out details to buy the mansion for around $50 million, sources tell Gimme Shelter exclusively.
Bedfored, NY-
a 100-plus-acre country estate in bucolic Bedford, NY
Hamptons Billionaire Lane-
Hamptons is a privilege only the 1% of the 1% can enjoy.
Last year, then-Forbes reporter Morgan Brennan broke down the who's who of one of the most exclusive streets in the Hamptons — Southampton's Meadow Lane. Not only does it have access to a long stretch of private beach, but the median sale price of a home here was just under $18 million in 2012, according to PropertyShark, making it the most expensive street on the East End. The five-mile road even has a helipad to whisk its famous residents off to Manhattan. Meadow Lane is one of the most expensive addresses in the country, and no wonder — it runs along a coveted beachfront strip in one of the most exclusive towns in the Hamptons.
Over in Southampton they own a beachfront home which cost the couple a humble $43 million.
Beverly Hills-
In 2016, Leon and Debra spent $38 million to buy a Beverly Hills mansion. The seller? Tom Cruise.
Despite the already multi-million dollar price tag Black plans to undertake a US$20million renovation, Sky News Real Estate’s Prue Miller reports.
Florida!!!
He shelled out $16.5 million for a 4,730-square-foot ocean-view condo and closed his purchase of the unit in September 2015. Then May 2016 put the sensually curvaceous Faena House in Miami Beach, FL back on the market. That’s likkety-split for sale at $18.5 million.
London-
Black just snagged a 7500 square foot, $28.3 million home in London’s posh Belgravia neighborhood, according to the Financial Times. The house has three reception rooms, seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms. The rear of the home opens to a patio garden. The mews house could be expanded by another 600 square feet. The cellar could also be expanded to connect to the main house.
Past residents of Eaton Square include Sean Connery, Andrew Lloyd Webber, former Prime Ministers Neville Chamberlain and Stanley Baldwin and royals Aga Khan and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Billionaire and owner of Chelsea F.C. Roman Abramovich also lived in the square.
Art-
Leon and Debra own one of the most-valuable private art collections in the world.
In May 2012, Black purchased one of the four versions of Edvard Munch's pastel, The Scream. Epstein pulled some strings at JPMorgan to help Black buy the painting for a record $119.9 million, then the highest price ever paid for a work of art.
In June 2013, it was revealed that Black had purchased Head of a Young Apostle, an 11-inch-wide work by Raphael for £29 million after a four-party bidding war.
In 2013 he paid just under $40 million for a chalk drawing done by Raphael (same as above? Well, it’s a different price…)
On December 22, 2015, it was reported that Black purchased at auction a complete set of the Daniel Bomberg Babylonian Talmud for $9.3 million. According to a press release from Sotheby's auction house, the sale was "a new world auction record for any piece of Judaica."
In June 2016, a lawsuit over the Picasso sculpture Bust of a Woman (Marie-Thérèse) between the advisory firm Pelham Europe and art gallery owner Larry Gagosian was settled. Pelham Europe, an agent for a member of Qatar's royal family, and Gagosian, who had resold the bust to Black, both claimed ownership. The case was settled by Maya Widmaier-Picasso, the owner of the sculpture. The settlement included Black getting the sculpture and Widmaier Picasso paying Pelham an undisclosed amount.
Private jet-
Rub Elbows with:
The billionaire’s Middle East outpost, called Scimitar, is investing with a locally based team led by financier Asad Hussaini, who was previously with a firm focused on real estate opportunities in the Gulf region. Scimitar will be in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s financial free zone, which is attracting a growing collection of hedge funds, private equity firms and family offices.
In the wake of Jeffrey Epstein's death it was revealed that Leon Black associated with Epstein dating back more than a decade. Black said he first met Epstein in 1996 through Wall Street polymath Elliot “Skip” Stein Jr. and learned he was a Rockefeller University appointee, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission and hung out with a host of high-powered people including Israeli politician Ehud Barak.
In 1997 Black made Epstein one of the original trustees of what is today the Debra and Leon Black Foundation. Epstein stayed on the Black Family Foundation board for 10 years, until he resigned in mid-2007, the year before his 2008 conviction for pedophilia.
Because of “an oversight,” the foundation reported to the IRS that Epstein remained on its board until 2012; when the mistake was discovered in 2013, the reporting was changed.
Black regularly visited Epstein’s townhouse in New York to either discuss business or to meet other prominent guests who were visiting Epstein, including well-known businessmen, political figures, diplomats, scientists, and celebrities. Black invited Epstein to his son’s 30th birthday party in the Hamptons in 2015, according to someone who was there.
While Black has, in the past, downplayed how close he was to Epstein, subsequent lawsuits and reporting show that they were deeply involved with each other, spending time on yachts and vacationing together.
In 2019, Black stated that he maintained a "limited relationship" with Jeffrey Epstein. “I thought he was a fascinating guy. Black called Epstein “an intriguing figure” who “was almost like a James Bond villain because all his staff were good-looking women.” “Not underage,” Black added, “but good-looking.” So yes, I spent time with him. I’d go up, have lunch or breakfast with him because I lived two blocks from him, and we would talk about tax and estate planning and financial things.” “Everybody looks at it through the lens of, This is Public Enemy Number One for being a pedophile. He was smart. And I thought he performed services for a bunch of [his associates], yes. And he was a bit offbeat and counterculture and eccentric, yes,” Black continued.
Cohan wrote that the 72-year-old mogul grabbed a piece of paper from his suit jacket in the middle of lunch with Puck’s William Cohan and his PR team and “scribbled a bunch of names of people who had also hung out with Epstein at one time or another.” Black listed former presidents Clinton and Trump, billionaires Mort Zuckerman, Reid Hoffman and Tom Pritzker, as well as Epstein’s old JPMorgan buddy Jes Staley and academic Noam Chomsky. Black added that he’d dine at Epstein’s New York mansion with others including director Woody Allen, TV host Dick Cavett, and Trump’s far-right strategist Steve Bannon.
Black insisted he stayed close with other wealthy people who went to jail: lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, financier Michael Milken, and Sotheby’s owner Alfred Taubman.
***Trigger Warning***
Sexual Assault
Troubles/(Alleged) Crimes:
He is rich and powerful. That means he can hire what appear to be reputable law firms to put their stamp of approval on a version of the truth that is not likely to be independently verified by anyone not getting paid by Black, or by Apollo. That’s not the same as transparency.
Junk Bonds-
At Drexel, Leon was a pioneer of the concept of the leveraged buyout using high-yield, "junk", debt. Leon was the right hand man of Drexel's senior executive Michael Milken. Drexel was forced into bankruptcy in 1990 due to its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by Michael Milken. The scandal began in 1986, when Ivan Boesky, a former Drexel client, was convicted of insider trading. Boesky implicated Milken and Drexel in his illegal financial dealings, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating the firm.
In 1988, Drexel agreed to pay $650 million in fines to settle charges of securities fraud. Milken left the firm the same year, and he was later convicted of six counts of securities fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He served 22 months.
Epstein-
In his 2020 letter to Apollo investors, Black said that Epstein provided him with "estate planning, tax and philanthropic advice" to his "family partnership and other related family entities."
Black paid more in fees to Epstein than he paid to any other professional.
Usually, Epstein told Black, he would charge a client $40 million a year for his advice. But he offered to give Black a break: $23.5 million, which was paid to Epstein in two installments in 2013.
Black agreed to hire Epstein again in mid-2013 for future services, agreeing to abide by terms similar to the initial contract, but apparently without a signed agreement. According to Dechert, Black paid Epstein a total of $50 million in 2013, and “on an ad hoc basis”
another $70 million in 2014
and another $30 million in 2015.
The New York Times reported that Black had paid Epstein at least $50 million for such services from 2012 to 2017.[29]
Black did not at the time confirm the $50 million sum reported by The New York Times, but did say that he paid Epstein "millions of dollars annually for his work".[31]
Epstein went on to advise Black about some loans he had made to “certain family trusts,” which appeared to save Black some money; his art collection; his yacht; and his airplane, which apparently unnerved a broker of private jets, who was not pleased because, according to Dechert, “the broker knew Epstein was sophisticated when it came to airplanes and that it would be hard to negotiate against Epstein.” Once again, we are asked to believe that Jeffrey Epstein was a better negotiator than Leon Black.
Somehow, we are supposed to believe that Jeffrey Epstein, a college dropout who taught math for about two years at the Dalton School, on the Upper East Side, and then worked at Bear Stearns before being fired, is responsible for between 10% and 20% of Black’s net worth. Even by Wall Street standards, the fees Black agreed to pay Epstein were preposterous. “You could buy a law firm for what Leon agreed to pay Epstein,” a retired CEO told me.
Black even told Cohan that before Apollo’s investigation, he never kept track of how much he was paying the convicted pervert.
“He had credibility in my eyes and we did a bunch of things. But the paying [of Epstein] was seriatim. I never had tallied it. And frankly, that number that came out was much bigger than I had thought. Because I don't follow, in my family office, everything,” Black claimed.
“And you can say that’s implausible. … How is this possible that this financial genius could throw away these amounts of money? There must be something more there. Yeah, I get it. But there isn’t.”
The latest lawsuit was filed in New York federal court on Tuesday, the same day the Senate Finance Committee said it was investigating whether Black’s $158 million payment to Epstein was part of a scheme to avoid paying over $1 billion in federal gift and estate taxes.
The Wall Street lawyer says it’s all just a load of crap. He uses the words “whitewash” and “cover-up.” His unproven theory is that Black was using Epstein to pass money to people who he didn’t want to be associated with by name. “There’s no way Jeffrey Epstein was keeping [$158 million],” he says.
An Apollo spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether Black used Epstein as a conduit to pay others in this manner
Black’s legal team responded to Sen. Ron Wyden, who is leading the investigation, in a letter shared with CNN saying that Black “declines” to share additional information with the committee “at this time.”
Dechert also noted that in early 2017, Black made two loans to Epstein totaling $30.5 million “in connection with an art transaction involving Epstein.” Epstein would repay only $10 million despite Black’s repeated demands for reimbursement.
Black traveled with Epstein a few times, including once taking his family to the trafficker’s private island.
In 2023, Black paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to be released from claims related to Epstein.
The settlement, according to the Times, stated that it should not be interpreted as an “admission of liability.”
In 2021, Black stepped down as CEO and chairman after Dechert LLP, after his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein became public.
In October 2020, Black requested that the Apollo board conduct an independent review of his relationship with Epstein, and it retained the law firm Dechert LLP to do so.
During its three-month investigation, Dechert reported that it reviewed more than 60,000 documents, voluntarily provided to it by Black, his family office, Apollo executives, and by Apollo’s outside counsel, Paul, Weiss. Dechert said it spoke with more than 20 individuals—“some more than once”—including Black, and also on a voluntary basis. Dechert did not have the ability to subpoena either documents or witnesses.
The review conducted by Dechert LLP was released on January 25, 2021. It showed that Black had paid Epstein around $158 million from 2012 through 2017 for “advice on taxes and estate planning.”
This is far above what those services are typically worth. “Despite not being a certified public accountant or licensed tax attorney, Epstein was paid amounts that far exceeded what you paid other professional advisors, including some of the most high-priced legal counsel in the nation,” wrote the committee’s chair, Senator Ron Wyden.
The details are bizarre: Not only did Epstein give relatively standard advice on tax avoidance, but he apparently took credit for the ideas of other people who actually worked for Black. Much of his advice had to be vetted by Black’s own tax and legal teams — people who actually did this stuff for a living — and a portion of it was rejected for being wrong.
The internal Apollo investigation that documented his $158 million payment to Epstein ultimately couldn’t uncover any wrongdoing.
In 2022, Black included Josh Harris in a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit, alleging that he led a group within Apollo attempting to tarnish his reputation after his ties to Epstein were reported. Federal judge Paul Engelmayer dismissed the suit for lack of evidence, with an appeals court upholding the decision in 2023.
Tax Evasion-
Epstein would earn a spot on Black’s family foundation and help him avoid tax liabilities with trusts he set up for his children, before advising him on his family office and transactions involving his artworks, jets, and yachts.
Using Epstein's tax avoidance strategies, Black claims he saved at least $1.3 billion.
In July 2023, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee made public that it is investigating Black's tax strategies and dealings with Epstein. According to the audit report, Black apparently believed he could deduct Epstein’s pay from his taxes, though later realized he couldn’t. It’s unclear why Black believed that, if anyone else had told him that was true, and if he was deducting the rest of his legal and tax services.
Huntsman Fraud-
American multinational manufacturer and marketer of chemical products for consumers and industrial customers. Huntsman manufactures assorted polyurethanes, performance products, and adhesives for customers like BMW, GE, Chevron, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Walkaroo. became the then third-largest petrochemical business in the United States when in 1999, it acquired Imperial Chemical Industries' polyurethanes, titanium dioxide, aromatics and petrochemical global businesses for $2.8 billion. In April 1994, Huntsman acquired the Texaco Chemical company for $1.1 billion.[2] Texaco Inc. agreed to sell its last remaining petrochemicals plant to Huntsman in 1999 for about $600 million.
In June 2007, it was announced that Huntsman had agreed to be acquired by Access Industries, for $5.88 billion in cash. Huntsman shareholders would receive $25.25 a share from Access Industries and Access would assume $3.7bn of Huntsman debt. However, on July 12, 2007, the agreement was terminated as Huntsman agreed to be bought by Apollo Global Management for $6.51bn. In June 2008, Apollo backed out of the deal. Upon termination of the merger agreement, the Huntsman stock value dropped by almost 50%.
Huntsman believed that Apollo never intended to buy Huntsman Corp. for $6.5 billion. Their lawsuit against Black and his cohorts claimed Apollo put in a higher bid than Access to prevent that buyout. The Access acquisition would have threatened Apollo’s market share.
In December 2008, Apollo and Hexion agreed to pay Huntsman $1.1 billion in return for Huntsman dropping all charges against them. This includes $500 million in cash, a $250 million investment in Huntsman, and an additional $425 million in cash, repayable by separate suits against Credit Suisse.
Sexual Misconduct-
Guzel Ganieva-
In March 2021, Russian former model, Guzel Ganieva claimed in a series of tweets that "I was sexually harassed and abused by [Black] for years [and ultimately] forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement under duress". Black stated that he had engaged in a consensual affair with her. She filed a lawsuit accusing him of rape and sexual violence. In turn, Black accused her of extortion, saying he paid her millions during and after their affair. Ganieva further alleged that Black introduced her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and tried to force her to have sex with them. Ganieva's lawsuit against Black was dismissed in May 2023.
Cheri Pierson-
The law firm that represented Ganieva also represented another accuser, Cheri Pierson. In her November 2022 complaint, Pierson alleged that Epstein arranged for her in 2002 to give Black a massage for $300. Then accused Black of raping her in 2002 in Jeffrey Epstein's mansion in New York City. She said Black, who was 8 inches (20.32 cm) taller and weighed more than twice as much, physically overwhelmed her and left her in "excruciating pain." Black denied these claims. Cheri Pierson dismissed her claims in a so-called stipulation of discontinuance filed with a New York state court in Manhattan in May 2024 after it came out that, among other things, flight logs showed that her trafficking accusations were impossible. The dismissal is with prejudice, meaning Pierson cannot sue again, and she cannot recoup her costs. Black dropped a related appeal on Friday.
Jane Doe-
On July 25, 2023, a lawsuit was filed against Black, alleging that he raped a 16-year-old girl in 2002. Her lawyers say that the woman has autism and a rare form of Down syndrome that has left her “developmentally… about 12 years old.” In the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe, lawyers say that she was “shipped off” in 2002 to New York City to Epstein's Manhattan townhouse to meet Black, whom Doe recalls being introduced as Epstein’s “special friend.” According to her lawyers, Epstein introduced her to Black and instructed her to give him “the same kind of massage that she had to give to Jeffrey Epstein when he ordered her to.” The lawsuit says that meant the massage “would involve sexual intercourse and she was expected to strip naked.” The lawsuit describes in gruesome detail the woman’s account of a sexual assault that left her bleeding and sobbing. Black, who is about 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, according to the lawsuit, “grabbed her hand so hard that she thought he broke bones,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit describes the woman’s account of being pinned down and assaulted. It says Black called her “demeaning, shameful, disgusting names” while forcing himself on her and causing her “unimaginable pain.”
A lawyer for Black, Susan Estrich, said Black has never met the woman and called the lawsuit “frivolous” and full of “vicious and defamatory lies.” Estrich also says the suit was “manufactured by the Wigdor law firm,” which had filed a previous sexual assault complaint against Black that was eventually thrown out.
Suing The Law Firm that Represented the Women-
So far, three women have accused black of rape stemming from his relationship with Epstein. One Epstein victim’s settlement with the financier’s estate included a carve-out provision allowing her to pursue claims against Staley and Black. Black denies the allegations from the two other women, and has raised serious questions about their validity. He is pursuing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the Wigdor law firm, which represented Pierson and two other women who said Black raped them, which he denies. In response to the vendetta claim, Jeanne M. Christensen, a partner at Wigdor, said that Black’s “conspiracy theories and finger-pointing are an obvious attempt to shift the focus away from his heinous acts.”
Ameliorations:
In 2007, the couple donated $25 million to form the new Melanoma Research Alliance. They eventually donated another $15 million to the foundation.Leon and Debra both serve on the board of the organization.
In 2012, Black gave US$48 million toward a new visual arts center at Dartmouth College.
Black pledged his intention to donate $200 million to women's initiatives.
In 2018, the Blacks donated $40 million to the Museum of Modern Art for its renovation and expansion.
In 2018, he was elected chairman of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
His term as chairman ended on July 1, 2021, and he did not seek re-election, in the wake of protests from dozens of artists and activists over his financial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Black
https://www.forbes.com/profile/leon-black/
https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/wall-street/leon-black-net-worth/
https://grizzlybulls.com/billionaires/leon-black
https://www.craincurrency.com/global/leon-black-joins-dalio-setting-abu-dhabi-family-office-branch
https://www.gurufocus.com/insider/20834/leon-d-black
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/why-did-leon-black-pay-jeffrey-epstein-usd158-million.html
https://www.thedailybeast.com/leon-black-finally-opens-up-about-his-pal-jeffrey-epstein
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/business/leon-black-epstein-rape-allegation/index.html
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/01/wall-street-isnt-buying-leon-blacks-epstein-story
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_Corporation
https://climatejets.org/wrapped/leon-black
https://nypost.com/2021/11/18/leon-black-buys-posh-28m-london-home-where-henry-ford-ii-lived/
https://nypost.com/2014/08/13/finance-guru-leon-black-buying-50m-ues-townhouse/
No comments:
Post a Comment