A Senate panel is probing billionaire Leon Black’s tax planning strategies with sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, whom he paid $158 million over five years. In a letter to the former Apollo Global Management head, Finance Committee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said the inquiry was just one investigation into how “ultra-high net worth persons avoid or evade paying federal taxes, including gift and estate taxes.” In Black’s case, Wyden noted, the committee sought information on Epstein’s role as his financial adviser, helping him “avoid federal gift and estate taxes on as much as $2 billion in wealth transferred to your children.” “Unfortunately, the inadequate responses you have provided the Committee only raise more questions than answers,” Wyden wrote, adding that Black refused to share documents substantiating how Epstein’s payments were calculated. The committee launched its probe in mid-2022 and is looking into Epstein’s role in setting up trusts for Black and his family, as well as his advice on Black’s $1-billion art collection. “Despite not being a certified public accountant or licensed tax attorney, Epstein was paid amounts that far exceeded what you paid other professional advisors, including some of the most high-priced legal counsel in the nation,” Wyden wrote. A spokesman for Black said he has “cooperated extensively with the committee.”
