Leon Black is working hard to shake the stigma of his business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — but some top Wall Street execs appear to be still steering clear of the Apollo founder, On The Money has learned.
Since his Epstein-related 2021 ouster from his private equity firm, Black has been looking to remake his career as one of the all-time great investors.
The 73-year-old Black is now expanding his family office, Elysium Management, which manages his fortune of about $18 billion.
He recently opened a branch in Abu Dhabi, but Wall Street executives who spoke to On The Money say he has faced some resistance getting some top people.
“I know a bunch of people who said ‘no’ because of the Epstein ties,” said one Wall Street hedge fund executive.
A spokesman for Black confirms that Elysium is expanding but says it’s having no problem filling positions.
“Leon’s built a world class team at Elysium and hired everyone he’s wanted. If somebody who didn’t get a job is now saying they passed, they weren’t a priority and it’s more likely sour grapes.”
The taint of Epstein notwithstanding, it needs to be pointed out that Black was never even remotely implicated by law enforcement of engaging in Epstein-related sex crimes. Most of the Epstein-related civil cases involving Black have been dropped or dismissed.
He went public to Puck News about his business relationship with the convicted pedophile, owned up to it as a grave mistake, but explained that it was purely business.
Epstein, for all his sleaze, was a very good wealth manager, which is something I have reported in the past. Despite being a college drop-out, he had an almost idiot savant knowledge of the tax code, which is why people like Black used his services.
Black had paid Epstein during their business dealings more than $150 million for various tax planning strategies even after he left jail in 2009 for his sexual deprecations.
But Black said he didn’t understand the full extent of Epstein’s misdeeds until he was charged again in 2019 with multiple counts of having sex with children.
Epstein later died in his prison cell of an apparent suicide.