Billionaire investor and co-founder of Apollo Global Management Leon Black has publicly defended the $158 million (£118 million) he paid Jeffrey Epstein, telling House Oversight Committee staff on Friday that the money was for tax, estate planning, and family office advisory work, not for access to women or any criminal activity.
Appearing voluntarily at the Rayburn House Office Building, Black sought to address years of speculation surrounding his financial relationship with the convicted sex offender, insisting he had 'never paid Epstein for access to women' and had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes until his 2019 federal trafficking case.
