Ben Black’s lawyers deny relationship with disgraced financier, but DoJ records reveal years of interactions
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Ben Black, the head of a little-known government investment agency funded by billions of dollars from US taxpayers, had personal and business ties toJeffrey Epstein, according to emails and business filings released by the Department of Justice.
His father, Leon Black, had once been the disgraced financier’shighest-paying client– calling on the convicted sex offender for tax advice and to orchestrate payments to women, according to theNew York TimesandBloomberg.
A Guardian review of more than 5,000 records from Epstein’s private correspondence found that Ben Black invested in the same company as the financier in 2011 and that the two men had a relationship for several years afterwards. Epstein told a friend that heattended Ben Black’s 30th birthday, advised him on the purchase of an $11.5m townhouse and helped one woman compose messages to him. She wrote to Epstein to say that she and Black had kissed the following day.
Now Black holds a Senate-confirmed position overseeing the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Trump administration’s largest overseas investment arm. The agency was previously confined to work in low-income countries, but Congress recently cleared it to invest in high-income countries and tripled its lending cap to $205bn, greatly expanding Black’s influence over taxpayer funds.
Donald Trumphas appointed at least three other men with known ties to Epstein to federal office. Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, testified recently tothe House oversight committeeafter admitting that hetraveled to Epstein’s private island. He has never been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein or otherwise. Lutnick sits on DFC’sboard of directors, where he and Ben Black join six other presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed members in reviewing and approving the agency’s overseas investments.
The scope of Ben Black’s personal connection to Epstein has not been previously reported. Black has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection to Epstein or any other matter.
The DFC did not respond to a request for comment. Lawyers for Leon Black responded to questions on behalf of both Leon and his son. And a White House spokesperson sent the Guardian an unsolicited defense of Black’s fitness for his job.
A personal spokesperson for Ben Black said: “Ben Black had no personal or professional relationship withJeffrey Epstein.”
Trump created the DFC with bipartisan support during his first term, and appointed Jared Kushner’s former college roommate,Adam Boehler, to transform the lending agency into a tool to counter China andpursue more direct private investments.
It’s not clear exactly what led Trump to appoint Ben Black to the DFC post, particularly given that public records suggest thin experience in international development finance. (A White House spokesperson told the Guardian Black had “elite” experience for the role.)
In January 2025, Ben Black and the Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdaleco-authored an essaycalling for a “pro-market” approach to foreign aid. They specifically cited the missteps of the Biden administration and the promise of investing in Greenland, a Danish outpost that Trump has said he would like to control.
Three weeks after its publication, the presidentappointedBlack, now 41, to take charge of the US’s largest overseas investing arm.
Ben Black grew up amid the upper echelons of New York financiers, real estate moguls and art aficionados.
