Billionaire investor Leon Black sat before a U.S. House committee Friday and made a firm declaration: he had no part in — and no knowledge of — the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s “heinous conduct.”
“Let me state unequivocally that I have never abused a woman. I have never been with an underage woman,” Black said in his opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He continued: “I have never engaged in sex trafficking. I have never paid Epstein for access to women. I was never blackmailed by Epstein.”
Black is among several individuals with ties to Epstein who have been called in for private interviews with the panel, which is examining the federal government’s handling of the Epstein case. Epstein, a well-known financier with connections to powerful figures in politics and business, pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges and spent 13 months behind bars.
He was taken into custody again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges involving minors. His death later that year in a Manhattan jail cell was officially ruled a suicide.
Black stepped away from his role leading private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021, following an independent law firm review that revealed he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning services. In 2023, he also agreed to pay $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle potential legal claims stemming from an Epstein-related investigation.
Several women have filed lawsuits against Black alleging sexual abuse. Two of those cases have been dismissed, while a third remains active. Black has denied all allegations and has not faced any criminal charges.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said the panel has hundreds of questions ready for Black — covering financial dealings and communications with survivors.
“Of all the witnesses that have come thus far, this one has the potential to be the most groundbreaking deposition, in my opinion,” Comer told reporters.
Black told the committee he would voluntarily answer questions related to his payments to Epstein and the services provided, but said he would not speak about his personal life.
In his testimony, Black noted that he had known Epstein for 18 years before ever paying him anything. He said Epstein helped him resolve what he described as a “massive estate problem.”
Black acknowledged he was aware of Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea, but said he was told at the time “it was an isolated incident resulting from a fake ID.” He said he now regrets giving Epstein another chance in 2013, and that he cut off the professional relationship in 2018 “after more than a year of increasing turmoil in our professional arrangements.”
