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Leon David Black (born July 31, 1951) is an American private equity investor. He is the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, which he co-founded in 1990 with Marc Rowan and Josh Harris. Black was the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art from 2018 to 2021. Black resigned from both Apollo Global Management and the Museum of Modern Art in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations and revelations that he had paid $158 million to Jeffrey Epstein.
Black received an AB in philosophy and history from Dartmouth College in 1973 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975. He served on the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College from 2002 to 2011. In 2012, Black gave US$48 million toward a new visual arts center at Dartmouth College. He serves on Dartmouth's President’s Leadership Council and has endowed a chair in Shakespeare Studies as well as a program in Jewish Studies.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Leon and Debra Black partnered with Aramark and the Mayor’s Fund to launch NYC Healthcare Heroes. They committed $20 million to provide hundreds of thousands of care packages, including food, household goods, and personal care items, to over 100,000 healthcare workers in New York City.
In 2018, he was elected chairman of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. His term commenced on July 1, 2018. 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.
In 2009, Black contributed $60 million in a settlement with Huntsman Corporation after Apollo was sued for backing out of a merger the previous year. In 2021, Black stepped down as CEO and chairman after Dechert LLP, which had been retained several months earlier by Apollo to investigate Black's dealings with Epstein, published a report finding that Black had paid $158 million to Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for advice on taxes and estate planning. 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.
In 2019, Black stated that he maintained a "limited relationship" with Epstein.
In 1997, he made Epstein one of the original trustees of what is today the Debra and Leon Black Foundation. 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". The New York Times reported that Black had paid Epstein at least $50 million for such services from 2012 to 2017. 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". 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. Black has said that he "deeply regrets" his relationship with Epstein.
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 financial services. Using Epstein's tax avoidance strategies, Black saved at least $1.3 billion in taxes. Black pledged his intention to donate $200 million to women's initiatives.
In 2023, Black paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to be released from claims related to Epstein. In July 2023, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee made public that it was investigating Black's tax strategies and dealings with Epstein.
In July 2025, Ron Wyden, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, called on the Internal Revenue Service to investigate potential tax evasion performed by Epstein for Black. Wyden accused the IRS of failing to properly audit "at least $158 million in payments that Black made to Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for complex tax-related transactions." Wyden urged the Justice Department to subpoena Epstein-related records from Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Deutsche Bank AG in regards to his financial relationship with Black.
The law firm that represented Ganieva also represented another accuser, Cheri Pierson, who accused Black of Rape her in 2002 in Jeffrey Epstein's mansion in New York City. Black denied these claims.Marif, Ramishaw. "Lawsuit alleges billionaire investor Leon Black raped a woman inside Jeffrey Epstein's home", CNN (28 Nov 2022). On July 25, 2023, a lawsuit was filed against Black, alleging that he raped a 16-year-old girl with Autism spectrum and Down syndrome in Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2002. Black's attorney called the accusations "frivolous and sanctionable". Pierson discontinued her lawsuit against Black in February 2024.
In June 2013, it was revealed that Black had purchased Head of a Young Apostle, an work by Raphael for £29 million after a four-party bidding war.
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 the Sotheby's auction house, the sale was "a new world auction record for any piece of Judaica."
In June 2016, a lawsuit over the Pablo 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.
Through the Debra and Leon Black Family Foundation, he provided $7.5 million to establish a fellowship program for U.S. military personnel and veterans at Harvard Kennedy School.
Sexual misconduct accusations
In March 2021, Guzel Ganieva claimed in a series of tweets that "I was sexually harassed and abused by Black for years and forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement under duress". Black stated that he had engaged in a consensual affair with her. The matter has resulted in lawsuits and countersuits.Thomas David. "Leon Black's law firm fights disqualification bid in Russian model's case", Reuters (16 Nov 2022). Ganieva further alleged that Black introduced her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and tried to force her to have sex with him. Ganieva's lawsuit against Black was dismissed in May 2023.
Book publisher
In 2012, Black acquired Phaidon Press, a fine art books publishing house.
Art collection
In May 2012, Black purchased one of the four versions of Edvard Munch's The Scream. He paid $119.9 million for the pastel, then the highest price ever paid for a work of art. In September 2012, the Museum of Modern Art announced the work would be exhibited for a six-month period starting in October.
Philanthropy
Black is a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, the Jewish Museum, the Asia Society, Lincoln Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, the Cardozo School of Law, and the Vail Valley Foundation.
External links
Categories: 1951 Births, 20th-century American Businesspeople, 20th-century American Jews, 21st-century American Businesspeople, 21st-century American Jews, American Billionaires, American Chief Executives Of Financial Services Companies, American Financial Company Founders, American Investors, American People Of Polish-jewish Descent, Apollo Global Management People, Dartmouth College Alumni, Drexel Burnham Lambert, Harvard Business School Alumni, Jeffrey Epstein, American Art Collectors, Jewish Art Collectors, American Philanthropists, Living People, Private Equity And Venture Capital Investors, Sexual Harassment In The United States
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