What to Watch for
Black’s interview is taking place behind closed doors Friday, but a transcript is likely to be released in the coming days.
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What Did Leon Black Tell Congress?
According to published quotes from his opening statement, Black denied any impropriety in connection with Epstein, saying, “I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde.” Black said “unequivocally that I have never abused a woman,” and his opening statement claims, “I have never been with an underage woman. I have never engaged in sex trafficking. I have never paid Epstein for access to women” and “I was never blackmailed by Epstein.” The billionaire cited a previous investigation that was done into his payments to Epstein, which concluded he paid $158 million to Epstein—which later estimates bumped up to $170 million—and those payments were for “highly valuable and legitimate tax and estate planning services for my family office.” The firm, Dechert, also concluded Epstein’s “tax work was responsible for billions of dollars in savings, and that all of Epstein’s work had been vetted by reputable law and accounting firms.” He pointed to Epstein’s “unrivaled network of relationships” to justify doing business with him, also saying the financier “solved a massive estate problem for me.” Black alleged he did not know about Epstein’s alleged abuse until he was indicted in 2019, and while he did business with Epstein after the financier’s previous 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution, he believed it was an “isolated incident” and now regrets his thinking. “I now know, as does the world, that Epstein was engaged in horrific, sordid activities,” Black said, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. “I feel terrible for Epstein’s victims.”
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Forbes Valuation
Forbes estimates Black’s net worth at $13 billion as of Friday morning.
This story is breaking and will be updated.