Leon Black, the private equity billionaire, mega-collector and former chairman of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)—where he still serves as a trustee—is under fire once again for his ties to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Late last month Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from Oregon, sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US government’s tax arm, accusing the department of failing to properly audit “suspicious transactions” related to Epstein’s tax and estate planning services, claiming Black’s payments had not been reviewed at all.
“When Americans think the system is rigged, this is the kind of abuse they think about,” Wyden wrote in the 31 July letter. “While average Americans are regularly audited, it appears that the IRS will simply look the other way in cases involving billionaires.”
Black, who made his fortune as the co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, paid Epstein at least $158m between 2012 and 2017—well after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl in Florida—for purported tax and estate planning advice. Epstein reportedly helped Black avoid paying large taxes on the sale of a $25m sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, according to The New York Times.
An independent investigation ordered by Apollo found no evidence that Black was involved with Epstein’s criminal activities at any time. Black stepped down from his role of chief executive and chairperson at the firm in March 2021. After more than 150 artists signed an open letter demanding that he be removed from his post as MoMA board chair, he did not stand for re-election. He remains on the museum’s board of trustees along with Glenn Dubin, another billionaire client of Epstein’s.
“Epstein lacked any professional training or certifications in accounting or tax law, yet was chosen by very wealthy people to execute very complex tax-related financial transactions,” Wyden wrote.
Black’s payments to Epstein “far exceeded” what he paid other professional advisors with formal training in tax and estate planning, Wyden alleged. At an annualised rate of $34m per year, Epstein’s compensation was double the median rate for a Fortune 500 company’s chief executive, he added. The majority of the transactions were made on an ad-hoc basis, without a formal contract. In March, Wyden alleged that his staff’s investigation found Black’s payments to Epstein total an amount “significantly higher than previously known”.
“It is unthinkable that transactions amounting to tens of millions of dollars paid to a known criminal for the purpose of helping a mega-wealthy individual dodge billions in taxes were never audited or investigated,” Wyden wrote. He asked that the IRS provide more information about audits of Epstein and his clients by 1 September.
In a statement to The Art Newspaper, a spokesperson for Black said that an independent review had concluded that Black “had not engaged in any wrongdoing, had no awareness of Epstein’s criminal activity and all of the fees paid were for legitimate tax, estate and philanthropy planning services and were vetted and approved by outside law firms”.
A spokesperson for MoMA did not respond to The Art Newspaper's request for a comment and a spokesperson for Wyden did no immediately answer our questions.
Details about the source of Epstein’s wealth remain a mystery more than six years after his death in federal custody while awaiting sex trafficking charges, which was ruled as a suicide. According to a Forbes investigation published in July, Epstein was worth nearly $600m at the time of his death in 2019, largely thanks to two billionaire (and art collecting) clients—Black and former Victoria’s Secret boss Les Wexner. Both have denied involvement in Epstein’s sex crimes. Black said in a 2020 letter to Apollo investors that he regrets associating with Epstein.
“With the benefit of hindsight—and knowing everything that has come to light about Epstein’s despicable conduct more than 15 years ago—I deeply regret having had any involvement with him,” Black stated in the letter, obtained by CNN.
Epstein’s relationships with the rich and powerful are back in the spotlight as US President Donald Trump—believed to have once been a close friend of the disgraced financier—struggles to manage his supporters’ dismay after failing to release the “Epstein files”.
Officials in his administration spent months hinting at the existence of previously undisclosed information in the Epstein case, including a rumoured “client list” unseen by the public, and promised to release the documents. Last month, the Justice Department essentially backpedaled, stating in a memo that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted”. Trump has tried to distance himself from Epstein and downplay how his administration has fumbled the case. Democrats have called on the full release of unredacted files. The White House has denied reporting by The Wall Street Journal that claims Trump was informed his name appears in the unreleased documents.