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Billionaire Leon Black faces another round of scrutiny over his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein—and his political giving has slowed at the same time.
photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Leon Black, the billionaire chairman, chief executive and cofounder of Apollo Global Management, donated at least $100,000 to mostly Republican Senatorial campaigns since 2019. That’s far less than he gave to political causes ahead of the 2016 election, based on a Forbes analysis of contributions reported by the Federal Election Commission.
Black has been under scrutiny recently for his ties to the dead, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The ties have begun to pose problems for his massive private equity firm.
GOP heavyweights are among the recipients of Black’s donations, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ($5,600), Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina ($5,600) and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas ($2,800). About 33% of his donations went to moderate Democrats, like Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.
Black’s donations in 2019 and 2020 decreased by some 80% compared to 2015 and 2016, when Black gave about $570,000. The majority of those funds were directed to two super-PACS: $250,000 to Senate Majority PAC, which is the super-PAC supporting Democrats in the Senate and $150,000 to Congressional Leadership Fund, which is the super-PAC supporting Republicans in the House.
His spouse Debra Black, a theatrical producer and Melanoma Research Alliance cofounder, gave less compared to her husband over the past year with $78,000 going to candidates on both sides of the aisle. Black and his wife gave to many of the same Congressional candidates, but about 43% of Debra Black’s donations went to Democrats. Like her husband, Debra Black contributed more overall in the 2016 cycle—but not by much—at $106,500.
Black’s political donations tapered off amid an ever-expanding public relations crisis. Black, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $7.7 billion, is under fire for transferring over $50 million to Epstein after he was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. That conviction became the subject of a November 2018 Miami Herald investigation, which found that Epstein negotiated what many believe to be an overly lenient plea deal with U.S. attorneys, after dozens of underage girls had accused him of sexual abuse. Black faced questions about his relationship with Epstein in July 2019, when the New York Post first reported that Epstein served on the board of the Black Foundation for four years following his 2008 conviction. Black has “deep regret” for his ties to Epstein, according to an October 12 letter to investors, and stressed that the disgraced financier never did any business with Apollo.
Black’s ties to Epstein have begun to have financial ramifications for Apollo Management. One of the country’s biggest pension funds, the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, said in an emailed statement to Forbes that it would not make any new investments in Apollo. (The Financial Times first reported this news on Wednesday.) The decision was made the day after the New York Times revealed the $50 million Epstein bombshell on October 12, fund spokesman Steve Esack told Forbes. And Cambridge Associates, a leading investment consulting firm, reportedly might stop recommending Apollo to its clients. Representatives for Cambridge Associates declined Forbes’ request to confirm this.
Black wrote in a July 2019 email to employees that the money he paid Epstein was for “professional services to my family partnership and related family entities, involving tax, estate planning and philanthropic advice.” Reports surfaced this week that Black requested on Tuesday that the Apollo board hire an outside law firm to review his business dealings with Epstein. According to the Wall Street Journal, the review is Black’s attempt to clear his name, and would hopefully result in renewed investor confidence.
Representatives for Black and Apollo did not respond to questions from Forbes about his political giving and what he hopes the outside review of his business dealings with Epstein might accomplish.
Meanwhile, Apollo cofounder Marc Rowan and his wife, Carolyn, made at least $1 million in political donations this year to the Trump Victory PAC, a joint fundraising effort between the president’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee, outstripping Black. NBC News reported Wednesday that back in April, Rowan emailed Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, seeking relaxed coronavirus restrictions that would benefit Apollo. Kushner lands squarely in the middle of this, with Apollo reportedly disbursing a $184 million loan to his real estate company in 2017.
With reporting by Michela Tindera.