The Epstein Files Are the Horror That Keeps on Giving
The Epstein files show that while private equity giant Apollo Global Management allegedly stripped companies, wiped out small investors, and misled customers about fees, founder and Jeffrey Epstein confidant Leon Black spent millions on art and parties.
The new batch of files on sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein reveal how Wall Street moguls like Leon Black spend the obscene wealth they’ve made. (Rick Friedman / Corbis via Getty Images)
In 2011, as the Wall Street firm he founded went public amid allegedly stripping companies for parts, wiping out small-time investors, and misleading its own customers about fees, Leon Black threw himself a sixthieth birthday party. The two-hundred-plus guests dined on steak, crab cakes, and foie gras; Black’s wife was dressed by fashion designer Vera Wang, and Elton John gave a private performance.
Total price tag? Nearly $3 million.
As founder of the massive private equity firm Apollo Global Management, Black has long been a public face of the industry, which is known for buying up companies in health care and far beyond, running them into the ground while milking them for profits and delivering questionable returns, alongside high fees, to investors and pension fund owners.
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