Ben Black, the head of a little-known government investment agency funded by billions of dollars from US taxpayers, had personal and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein, according to emails and business filings released by the Department of Justice.
Background and Family Connections
His father, Leon Black, had once been the disgraced financier’s highest paying client – calling on the convicted sex offender for tax advice and to orchestrate payments to women, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg.
A Guardian review of more than 5,000 records from Epstein’s private correspondence found that Ben Black invested in the same company as the financier in 2011 and that the two men had a relationship for several years afterwards. Epstein told a friend that he attended Ben Black’s 30th birthday, advised him on the purchase of an $11.5m townhouse and helped one woman compose messages to him. She wrote to Epstein to say that she and Black had kissed the following day.
Role at Development Finance Corporation
Now Black holds a Senate-confirmed position overseeing the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Trump administration’s largest overseas investment arm. The agency was previously confined to work in low-income countries, but Congress recently cleared it to invest in high-income countries and tripled its lending cap to $205bn, greatly expanding Black’s influence over taxpayer funds.
Donald Trump has appointed at least three other men to federal office with known ties to Epstein. Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, testified recently to a House oversight probe after admitting that he traveled to Epstein’s private island. He has never been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein or otherwise. Lutnick sits on DFC’s board of directors, where he and Ben Black join six other presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed members in reviewing and approving the agency’s overseas investments.
The scope of Ben Black’s personal connection to Epstein has not been previously reported. Black has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection to Epstein or any other matter.
Denials and Defenses
The DFC did not respond to a request for comment. Lawyers for Leon Black responded to questions on behalf of both Leon and his son. And a White House spokesperson sent the Guardian an unsolicited defense of Blacks’ fitness for his job.
A personal spokesperson for Ben Black said: “Ben Black had no personal or professional relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Appointment and Qualifications
Trump created the DFC with bipartisan support during his first term, and appointed Jared Kushner’s former college roommate, Adam Boehler, to transform the lending agency into a tool to counter China and pursue more direct private investments.
It’s not clear exactly what led Trump to appoint Ben Black to the DFC post, particularly given public records suggest thin experience in international development finance. (A White House spokesperson told the Guardian Black has “elite” experience for the role.)
In January 2025, Ben Black and Palantir cofounder, Joe Lonsdale, coauthored an essay calling for a “pro-market” approach to foreign aid. They specifically cited the missteps of the Biden administration and the promise of investing in Greenland, a Danish outpost that Trump has said he would like to control.
Three weeks after its publication, the president appointed Black, now 41, to take charge of the US’s largest investing arm.
Early Life and Career
Ben Black grew up amidst the upper echelons of New York financiers, real estate moguls and art aficionados. His mother, Debra Black, worked as a Broadway producer, garnering 10 Tony awards for her work. Leon partnered with Debra’s brother to found Apollo Global Management in 1990, and as CEO led it to become one of the five largest private equity and credit managers in the world with nearly a trillion dollars under management.
Leon Black and Trump were fellow travelers in the wild world of 1990s finance. The two vulture capitalists once vied for the same real estate contracts in Boca Raton, and traveled to Moscow on business in 1996, where Leon Black later told Senate investigators that he and the president “might have been in a strip club together”. A photo shows the pair of New York real estate investors chumming around in Moscow.
The main stop on Trump’s 1996 tour was Ducat Place, according to the Moscow Times, where Trump once hoped to build Europe’s first Trump Tower. Leon Black went on to fund the development of the luxury office complex after their trip.
Lawyers for Leon Black said in a legal letter that Mr Black has no current ties to Russia; never did any business with Mr Trump; that they have known each other socially, mostly as co-residents of New York City; and that the fact that they were in Moscow at the same time 30 years ago has no news value in the year 2026.
Ties to Epstein
Black was also Epstein’s top-paying client by a wide margin for years. He paid Epstein to advise him on tax saving strategies and art acquisitions, and also acted as an intermediary in his affairs with women. A Senate finance committee investigation found that Black paid the convicted sex offender $170m, which Black said was for legitimate estate and tax planning services. Epstein helped him send about $20m dollars to women, the New York Times found.
Three women have sued Leon Black for alleged sexual abuse; two of the suits have been dismissed and one remains pending. Lawyers for Leon Black said in a statement to the Guardian that misconduct allegations raised against Mr Black were false, and that “subsequent events have established with certainty that Mr. Black’s account was truthful, and his accusers’ claims were not.” He has never been charged with any crimes in relation to the allegations.
A separate independent inquiry commissioned by Apollo Management to investigate its founder’s alleged ties to Epstein’s sex trafficking network in 2021 found no evidence that Epstein ever introduced Black, or offered to introduce Black, to any underage women.
Ben Black attended the Dalton School, a prestigious Upper East Side establishment where Epstein briefly taught math and physics in the 1970s. He graduated in 2002, alongside many of New York’s most well-heeled children, and went on to study history at the University of Pennsylvania. He later earned a dual master’s in business and law at Harvard, and a master’s in taxation from New York University.
In 2011, Ben Black and several of his family members invested in Environmental Solutions Worldwide (ESWW), a diesel emissions control company where Epstein was a 6% shareholder via his Virgin Islands shell company, Financial Trust, according to SEC filings. Ben Black and Joshua Black, one of his brothers, became directors of ESWW the same year, company records show.
It’s not clear if Ben Black was aware that Epstein was an ESWW shareholder when he took a stake in the entity through his personal trust fund – though his father, Leon, had encouraged Epstein to invest in the group a year earlier.
Two weeks after Leon Black’s suggestion, Epstein wired $1m to purchase ESWW company debt, augmenting holdings that dated back to 2005, according to his Bear Stearns account.
Epstein, through his company, sold his ESWW shares to the Black Family Partners, LP, a private partnership that manages some of Leon Black’s $14bn estate, in November 2012.
Lawyers for Leon Black described this as a change in investment strategies on behalf of Mr Epstein.
There are some discrepancies in the public timeline documenting Ben Black’s involvement with ESWW. A Senate ethics disclosure dates his board term to June 2021 – 10 years after Black’s role was first listed in SEC filings. A company webpage that listed Ben Black on its board of directors between 2015 and 2023 has been taken down.
Lawyers for Leon Black did not answer questions about Ben Black’s role on the ESWW board, or his tenure there. ESWW did not return requests for comment about Black’s tenure with the company.
Ben Black said that he would resign from his position at ESWW upon assuming his role at Development Finance Corporation, but would continue to own company stock.
Personal Interactions
By his mid-20s, Ben Black had taken a position within the Natural Resources Group at his father’s firm in New York. Records show that Black was scheduled to meet Epstein on several occasions after the young scion returned to the city. He was first scheduled to meet Epstein as his father’s guest in 2012. It is not known whether the meeting went ahead.
A year later, emails between Epstein’s staff and a Google administrator reflected that Epstein would be joining Ben Black and his girlfriend for a private tour of Google’s New York headquarters. Leon Black and Karyna Shuliak, Epstein’s long-time Belarussian lover, were also listed as part of the six person tour. The identity of a sixth guest was redacted in justice department filings.
Lawyers for Leon Black said that Ben Black did not attend a tour of the Google headquarters, and that a tour he did not attend does not “establish a relationship of any kind, let alone a close one”.
By September 2013, Epstein obtained Ben Black’s contact information after a family estate planning meeting at which both men were present, according to a memo summarizing the meeting. “Leon said fine to set up meetings with Ben and Josh,” Leon Black’s assistant emailed Epstein’s assistant.
It’s not clear if the two men corresponded, but Epstein told a friend that he flew to the Hamptons to celebrate Ben Black’s 30th birthday in July 2014.
Lawyers for Leon Black initially said that Mr. Epstein did not attend a birthday celebration for Benjamin in 2014, or ever. After reviewing the email in which Epstein told a friend he had attended Ben Black’s birthday, the lawyers later said that they were not aware of “any email to Leon Black acknowledging any attendance at the party and Mr. Black and his son have confirmed that Epstein did not attend (whatever he may have said in emails). It is very well known that Epstein was prone to exaggeration, lies, and embellishments to try and elevate his importance with others.”
Two days after Ben Black’s birthday party, Epstein weighed in on Black’s plan to buy an $11.5m townhouse. The transaction was carefully orchestrated to minimize tax exposure, emails show. Epstein told Leon Black’s executive assistant that if Ben had questions after the purchase, “he could call anytime.”
By the end of 2014, Black’s parents had moved into a 30-room, Italian Renaissance-style mansion one block from Epstein’s Upper East Side address.
Tensions between Leon Black and Epstein ebbed and flowed over the years, emails show. Epstein repeatedly admonished Black for delaying personnel changes in his family office, Elysium Management, and short-changing his compensation for a formidable advisory task.
In February 2016, Epstein’s assistant asked Ben Black and his brother, Joshua, if they would have their portraits painted as a gift to their father. The brothers agreed, and met Kyeong No, a Korean painter, for a photography session.
No told the Guardian that he had received a scholarship from Epstein to study portraiture at the New York Academy of Art. He said the scholarship stipulated that he had to paint at least one portrait for donors.
“They sent me the two guys,” he recalled. “I took their photo and then I painted it in my studio space. After graduating, some guy came to pick it up.”
He added that he did not have any knowledge of Mr Epstein or the Black family at the time or receive any money in exchange for his work.
Lawyers for Leon Black initially said that neither Benjamin nor his brother sat for a portrait commissioned by Mr Epstein, and that no follow-up emails suggested that a portrait had been painted. After reviewing a picture of the painting, the lawyers additionally said: “As for the portrait you provided, it appears to be painted from a picture. Neither Ben nor Josh Black ‘sat’ for a portrait commissioned by Epstein. Leon Black doesn’t have any portrait of Ben and Josh, period.”
If Epstein appreciated the boys’ help, his emails didn’t convey much respect for their financial acumen.
“You have a bomb of colored string that your retarded children have formed,” Epstein wrote to Leon in a detailed note about their family finances. “It has to be very carefully unwound.”
Interactions with Women
On 31 December 2014, Epstein received an email from St Barts, a Caribbean destination where many of the financier’s friends flocked for the holidays.
“Hello Jeffrey Yes . Lastnight we met blacks family and Greek boy too . He was with ugly rude girl . But we had a great time with brothers . Hopefully will meet them today . They are very very nice !”
On New Year’s Day, he received a second email: “Tonight having din=er with Ben black and brothers . This is great time and lots of fu= here ! I love it!!”
His email contacts were among the young women gathered in St Barts for New Year’s, where one person reported that “200 fabulous and more fabulous” guests had joined Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s then-wife for a year-end bash – Leon and Debra Black among them.
A month later, Epstein received a missive from a woman in New York:
“Hello Jeffrey, Please help me what to answer to Ben Black. He just texted me “So how does your schedule look? I have a few ideas but do you have an= preference?”
Epstein and the woman, who identifies herself as “Chik” in more than 100 emails, discussed Ben’s email, and his subsequent invitation to dinner. At 9am the next morning, Epstein received an email with the subject line ‘Ben Black’:
“Hello Jeffrey Last-night I had a great time with Ben and he kissed me ! He was behaving like a real gentlemen!”
“Chik” references Ben Black and his family on at least three separate occasions in her correspondence with Epstein. She first asked Epstein for help “to get in with Leon and family” to an exclusive New Year’s party after he arranged her tickets to St. Barts. Back in New York, “Chik” asked Epstein for help responding to Black’s text messages; and then asked if Ben Black would be joining her appointment with his father, one month after she said they kissed.
“Is Leon B is coming tomorrow alone ? No BB? Jeffrey what time would You like to see me tomorrow?”, she wrote. It is not known whether the appointment went ahead.
Black family lawyers described Ben Black’s relationship to “Chik” as a “single private date” between two consenting adults. “In 2015, Benjamin met a woman and they went on a date and he treated her nicely–a fact represented in the emails,” they said in a statement to the Guardian. They also said that Ben Black did not know that the woman would email Mr Epstein, or the content of any emails she may have exchanged with Mr Epstein. The lawyers did not comment on records linking Ben Black to women in St Barts.
The lawyers did not comment on emails referring to Leon Black and “Chik”.
Like other women in Epstein’s network, “Chik” appeared to defer to Epstein for both personal and financial support. She asked for small favors, like polishing her résumé or purchasing a coffee machine; and larger ones, like topping up her bank account when it ran dry.
Epstein also called on “Chik” for favors, and scolded her when she didn’t follow through: “We had planned to go to paris, and i needed help on the plane,” he wrote after New Years. “Shameful, shameful.”
Amidst their repartee, “Chik” appears to write about Ben Black with a similar blend of deference and awe: “he is so cool and I don’t understand what he wants from me,” she wrote.
Staff Concerns
Several DFC staff raised questions about Ben Black’s background when Trump first selected the Wall Street scion to lead the US’s multi-billion dollar lending arm, according to interviews with nearly a dozen former and current employees who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Black has a limited track record in emerging markets, according to public records. His New York-based private equity firm, Fortinbras Enterprises, opened an outpost in the United Arab Emirates in 2024, where Black helped open a branch of his family’s office the same year. (His father, Leon, was the subject of a Senate investigation into his dealings with Epstein at the time.)
“He is not qualified to do this, for sure,” a former DFC director said of Black. “It does make you wonder, you know – why is he in that role?”
A White House spokesperson sent an unsolicited email to the Guardian defending Black’s fitness to lead America’s Deal Team – as the agency has rebranded under Trump – and Leon Black’s lawyers said: “It is absurd to imply that Benjamin–who has law and business degrees from Harvard and a master’s in taxation from New York University School of Law–is somehow underqualified to run the DFC or only got the position based on his father’s connections to Mr. Trump,” in a legal letter to the Guardian.
When the Department of Justice released portions of Epstein’s correspondence in December 2025, a handful of DFC employees uncovered records of their boss in the files and their concerns changed.
Initially, people were sharing Epstein’s comments in private group chats – particularly Epstein’s criticism of the Black children’s financial skills, one former staff member said.
“People were like, ‘eye roll – the guy running the world’s largest bilateral bank apparently can’t manage money,’” the person said. “This is such a joke.”
A few weeks later, staff discovered Chik’s email to Epstein describing her date with Ben, and the chatter largely stopped.
“[People] just wanted to put blinders on,” a former staff member said, summarizing a series of their conversations with current employees. Now, they said, morale is low and people are afraid to speak out. “Everybody’s just looking for jobs.”
