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<v Speaker 1>What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're picking up where we

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<v Speaker 1>left off with the Vanity Fair article talking about Leon Black.

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<v Speaker 1>The author of this article once again is Nae Freeman.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen ninety eight, Black was named to the Art

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<v Speaker 1>News Top two hundred Collectors list, the industry bible for

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<v Speaker 1>the people who collect at the highest level. Who was

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<v Speaker 1>around this time that Black started throwing his money into institutions.

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<v Speaker 1>He lent work to a blockbuster Goya show at the

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<v Speaker 1>National Gallery of Art in two thousand and one, and

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<v Speaker 1>back to show centered on Pierre Matisse as a dealer

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<v Speaker 1>at the Morgan Library in two thousand and two. He

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<v Speaker 1>was the primary backer of a month show at MoMA

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<v Speaker 1>in two thousand and six. So, look, this dude is

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<v Speaker 1>definitely locked in and the world of art they love him.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no doubt that he is a favored son

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<v Speaker 1>of the world of high end art. And I think

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<v Speaker 1>it really just tells you everything you need to know.

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<v Speaker 1>All the people involved in MoMA, all the people involved

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<v Speaker 1>in all these events that have them there and especially

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<v Speaker 1>giving them a place of prominence, well they have some

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<v Speaker 1>questions to answer right now. Look, people are going to

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<v Speaker 1>get invited to events, and I understand that. I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>saying that Leon Black shouldn't be invited to events, but

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<v Speaker 1>that doesn't mean we're not gonna have questions or criticism

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<v Speaker 1>about it. When you have somebody that's this highly placed

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<v Speaker 1>in society, who was obviously deeply intertwined with one of

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest criminals maybe in the past what thirty forty

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<v Speaker 1>years in this country, and when you look at Jeffrey

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's crimes free, I don't think that's hyperbole because remember,

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<v Speaker 1>we're not just talking about the abuse. We're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>financial crimes. We're talking about sham marriages, immigration crimes, all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of shit, and Leon Black was right in the

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<v Speaker 1>middle of all of it. He was also beginning to

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<v Speaker 1>hobnob at art world events. In two thousand, Black attended

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<v Speaker 1>Art Basel, Miami Beach and was seated at a W

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<v Speaker 1>magazine dinner for Don and Merrow Rubel next to Stefano Tanci,

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<v Speaker 1>the publications editor at the time. In twenty twelve, he

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<v Speaker 1>bought the art book publisher Fadon, and in twenty fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>he added the online art concern art Space to its holdings,

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<v Speaker 1>so basically the godfather of art at this point, right,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're doing anything at high end art, you're probably

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<v Speaker 1>involved with Leon Black. And if you're involved with Leon Black,

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<v Speaker 1>that makes you adjacent to Jeffrey Epstein, right, because at

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<v Speaker 1>this point everybody knows what Leon Black is, So if

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<v Speaker 1>you still choose to associate with him, well that's on you.

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<v Speaker 1>And I don't want to hear anything about, oh, my reputation,

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<v Speaker 1>because if you cared about your reputation, you wouldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>hanging out with people that were adjacent to Jeffrey Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>or that were involved in Jeffrey Epstein's day to day activities.

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<v Speaker 1>But here we are. The audience were also when Black

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<v Speaker 1>started working in close collaboration with Jeffrey Epstein. In Black's

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<v Speaker 1>interview with the Seleck Committee, he claimed he trusted Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>simply because so many other respected individuals also dependent on

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<v Speaker 1>him to look over their cash. Such a BS excuse.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you imagine being as rich as Leon Black and

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<v Speaker 1>just following along with everybody else? Do you really think

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<v Speaker 1>that's what happened? Do you really think Leon Black one

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<v Speaker 1>day woke up and said, you know what, I really

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<v Speaker 1>wonder what Deepak Chopra's up to. I wonder what Bill

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<v Speaker 1>Gates is doing as far as their finances. I wonder

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<v Speaker 1>if I should do what they're doing and talk to

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<v Speaker 1>the people they're talking to as if Leon Black wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>already as rich as all of them, basically certainly richer

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<v Speaker 1>than Choprah. But because all these other people were doing it,

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<v Speaker 1>Leon Black's going to get on board. Does that sound

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<v Speaker 1>like somebody who built the fortune that Leon Black built?

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<v Speaker 1>Does that sound like somebody who's always been at the

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<v Speaker 1>head of the class. Just to get in line and

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<v Speaker 1>follow along with everybody else and do what everybody else

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<v Speaker 1>is doing. Doesn't make sense to me, and I doubt

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<v Speaker 1>it makes sense to you. By the time I first

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<v Speaker 1>paid Epstein in twenty thirteen, I knew him to possess

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<v Speaker 1>an unrivaled network of relationships with individuals and finance, academia, science,

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<v Speaker 1>and politics. Black said, a group that included Deepak Chopra,

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<v Speaker 1>Tom Barrock, Tom Pritzker, Reed Hoffman, Elon Musk, Sergey Brinn,

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<v Speaker 1>Bill Gates, former President Bill Clinton, Peter Thiel, and Steve Bannon,

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<v Speaker 1>among others. And look, there's no doubt that that's a

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<v Speaker 1>list of so called respectable businessmen. Right, But when you

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<v Speaker 1>start getting down to it, how many of them had

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<v Speaker 1>ties to Ebstein? Oh that's right, all of them. And

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<v Speaker 1>because of those ties, mister Black says, that's why he

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to be friends with Ebstein too. And make no mistake, folks,

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<v Speaker 1>that's all part of the hustle. They'll all just blame

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<v Speaker 1>each other. Oh well, I had no idea, Meaning Bill Gates,

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<v Speaker 1>Leon Black was hanging out with him, so I thought

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<v Speaker 1>it was cool, and on and on it goes. But

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<v Speaker 1>nobody ever takes responsibility or accountability for the shit they

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<v Speaker 1>did or for the people they were associating with. And

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<v Speaker 1>if d pac Choper likes the guy who is Leon Black,

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<v Speaker 1>not to trust him basically what I just said, right,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we're talking about one of the richest, most

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<v Speaker 1>powerful men, one of the most shrewd men when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to money in the whole world. But all of

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<v Speaker 1>a sudden he needs all this help and advice from

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<v Speaker 1>a former math teacher from Balton High School or Dalton

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<v Speaker 1>School who got kicked out, who got fired. This is

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<v Speaker 1>the guy you're bringing in. You mean to tell me

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<v Speaker 1>there's no other professionals in the industry that could do

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<v Speaker 1>what Epstein does. Well, I'm going to tell you that's bullshit, unless,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, you're talking about stashing money, hiding it, coloring it,

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<v Speaker 1>and laundering it, because that's the reason you use Jeffrey

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<v Speaker 1>Epstein's services. So stop the bullshit, stop the lies, and

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<v Speaker 1>stop trying to tell us that you have had no idea.

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<v Speaker 1>Black is one of the few private citizens to personally

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<v Speaker 1>own a globally famous guy on the street would recognize

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<v Speaker 1>this work of art. Softbees was set to sell Edward

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<v Speaker 1>Munch's The Scream, which had an estimated value of eighty million.

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<v Speaker 1>Biddings started at forty million, with half a dozen buyers

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<v Speaker 1>actively in the hunt. The late Softbees vice president Charles Mofford,

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<v Speaker 1>speaking with a client on the landline phone outlasted them all.

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<v Speaker 1>After a twelve minute bidding war, the Hammer came down

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<v Speaker 1>at one hundred and seven million, or nearly one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and twenty million with the buyer's premium, making it the

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<v Speaker 1>most expensive work of art ever sold at that point.

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<v Speaker 1>One hundred and twenty million dollars for that picture. That art.

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<v Speaker 1>I just don't get it. Now. Maybe I'm just not

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<v Speaker 1>cultured enough, but I don't get it. The thought of

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<v Speaker 1>spending that kind of money on a piece of art

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<v Speaker 1>is absolutely insane. I mean, what are we even doing here?

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<v Speaker 1>Eighty million dollars and then it goes all the way

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<v Speaker 1>up to one hundred and twenty and on the phone

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<v Speaker 1>with Moffitt was Leon Black. At the time, the price

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<v Speaker 1>was shocking. Now it seems a bit quaint, honestly, a

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<v Speaker 1>steal at a time when works with much less cultural

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<v Speaker 1>weight have been selling for hundreds of millions of dollars,

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<v Speaker 1>the demand for undeniable trophies is far out pacing the supply. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that tells me that there's a lot of people out

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<v Speaker 1>there with way more money than they need. Maybe we

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<v Speaker 1>should be doing some audits on these people with these

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<v Speaker 1>gigantic art collections. Might be a great idea, right, And look,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not one of these people that wants to steal

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<v Speaker 1>all the money from the rich people, blah blah blah.

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<v Speaker 1>But they're obviously laundering their money and they're obviously hiding it.

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<v Speaker 1>And the sad truth is Congress writes these tax laws

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<v Speaker 1>with that in mind. They have to have loopholes, right

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<v Speaker 1>for the people that really pay the bills, for the

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<v Speaker 1>people that really control the party, and like I've been

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<v Speaker 1>telling you from the very beginning, those people are people

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<v Speaker 1>likely on Black. Some estimate that if Leon Black ever

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<v Speaker 1>put The Scream up again at auction, it would become

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<v Speaker 1>the first artwork to sell for over one billion. The

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<v Speaker 1>purchase cemented his status as a true trophy hunter, buying

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<v Speaker 1>up master works for his private collection. Just six months

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<v Speaker 1>after The Scream sold for the record price, the Museum

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<v Speaker 1>of Modern Art organized an exhibition put together by Chief

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<v Speaker 1>curator and Temken that showcase the iconic work, and the

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<v Speaker 1>Waltech said it was loaned from a private collection. At

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<v Speaker 1>the time, Black was serving as the vice chair on

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<v Speaker 1>the board, and by twenty fifteen he was selected co

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<v Speaker 1>chairman of one of our culture's most exclusive clicks, the

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<v Speaker 1>Moment Board. Just another group I would never want anything

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<v Speaker 1>to do with. The second you tell me it's an

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<v Speaker 1>exclusive click, No thank you. You know, these motherfuckers are

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<v Speaker 1>up to no good and they're probably dancing around that

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<v Speaker 1>owl out at Bohemian growth, bunch of weird mask wearing

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<v Speaker 1>sons of bitches. In twenty eighteen, Black was elected the

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<v Speaker 1>sole chair of the board of MoMA, having ascended to

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<v Speaker 1>that perch over the course of decades, but a few

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<v Speaker 1>years later, the ground swell of anger around the Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>revelations was forcing a reckoning throughout the museum world. When

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<v Speaker 1>Black's term as chair of the MoMA Board was coming

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<v Speaker 1>up in twenty twenty one, he decided to opt out

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<v Speaker 1>of returning, but he did not leave the board, where

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<v Speaker 1>he remains today. As Lowry told WSJ at the time,

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<v Speaker 1>he chose not to run for reelection for the chair

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<v Speaker 1>because he wanted to make a decision that was not

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<v Speaker 1>going to be harmful to the museum. Well here's an idea,

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<v Speaker 1>don't be a scumbag that might help our board looked

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<v Speaker 1>very carefully at Leon and ultimately decided that he was

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<v Speaker 1>a solid trustee and he should remain. Lowry also noted

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<v Speaker 1>that Leon has never been charged with the crime related

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<v Speaker 1>to Epstein. They love to be slick with that shit, right, Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>he was never charged. Well, he was never charged, He

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<v Speaker 1>was never investigated, so how can he be charged. They

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<v Speaker 1>think they're cute, but they're really not. That same month,

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<v Speaker 1>March twenty twenty one, he stepped down from his roles

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<v Speaker 1>as CEO of Apollo way earlier than expected. An investigation

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<v Speaker 1>into his connections to Epstein by the law firm Deckert

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<v Speaker 1>wrapped up in January of twenty twenty one, finding no

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<v Speaker 1>evidence of wrongdoing. Yet, even though he'd planned to step

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<v Speaker 1>down in July, he cut the cord months earlier, citing

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<v Speaker 1>his health. It's always their health, right, Well, I need

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<v Speaker 1>to spend more time with my family. You mean the

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<v Speaker 1>family that you were cheating on. That family. And then

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<v Speaker 1>in January of twenty twenty six, the Epstein Files were released.

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<v Speaker 1>Art world media junkies quickly figured out that the largest

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<v Speaker 1>cash of art related documents in the Epstein Files has

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<v Speaker 1>to do with Black. Taken together, this collection of emails,

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<v Speaker 1>bank statements, and tax dossiers doesn't just offer the fullest

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<v Speaker 1>picture of an art collector in the Epstein Files, it

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<v Speaker 1>might offer the most forensic, under the hood dive into

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<v Speaker 1>a private art collection ever publicly released. The documents showed

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<v Speaker 1>that in March of twenty fifteen, Black put up one

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<v Speaker 1>billion of his art as collateral to secure a four

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and eighty four million dollar loan from Bank of America.

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<v Speaker 1>By twenty seventeen, the collateral package had grown in value

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<v Speaker 1>a one point four billion, and the loan was six

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and ninety five million. The Epstein files revealed that

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<v Speaker 1>Black's art collection is an LLC holding that he owns

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<v Speaker 1>outright or is linked to. In order to facilitate this,

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<v Speaker 1>every single work that he owned had to be personally

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<v Speaker 1>and meticulously cataloged by Epstein, who had been providing Black

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<v Speaker 1>with what was described as financial advice to the tune

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<v Speaker 1>of an astounding one hundred and seventy million, which Black

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<v Speaker 1>paid to Ebstein over the course of six years. So

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<v Speaker 1>if you're a crack dealer and you're selling crack out

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<v Speaker 1>of your mom's house, they can seize your mom's house.

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<v Speaker 1>So why isn't Leon Black under investigation? And then if

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<v Speaker 1>it gets to a point where he gets convicted, they

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<v Speaker 1>should seize all this heart and sell it off and

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<v Speaker 1>give it to the survivors. But as we all know,

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<v Speaker 1>those laws are only for us. Pouring over the spreadsheet

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<v Speaker 1>brings endless surprises. It's simply unheard of for the public

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<v Speaker 1>to get a hold of the collection, manifest usually shrouded

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<v Speaker 1>and Pentagon levels a secrecy. Some of the bigger ticket

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<v Speaker 1>items that Black has acquired over the years appear in

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<v Speaker 1>the endless list of thousands of paintings sculptures, video, furniture pieces,

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<v Speaker 1>artifacts and antiques. There's a Picasso sculpture Postai de Femi

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<v Speaker 1>that was tied up in a dispute with a Gaitari

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<v Speaker 1>royal family. But until the release of the Epstein files,

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<v Speaker 1>we didn't know the official price that Black paid for it.

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<v Speaker 1>Now we do, one hundred and twenty five million. They

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<v Speaker 1>also reveal that, in addition to the Rafael that Black

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<v Speaker 1>bought at Christie's London in two thousand and nine, Black

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<v Speaker 1>also bought the Rafael offered at South Beast, London in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twelve for forty eight million. Just throwing money around, huh.

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<v Speaker 1>I wonder how much of this was reported. I wonder

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<v Speaker 1>how much of this is taxable. It's unclear whether black

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<v Speaker 1>standing in the cultural Mulay will ever fully shift. Even

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<v Speaker 1>following his June testimony, he still owns a Scream, which

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<v Speaker 1>is reportedly on view at the former home of Noldler Gallery,

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<v Speaker 1>which Black purchased for fifty million in twenty fifteen. MoMA

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<v Speaker 1>did not respond to a request for comment. Zero chance.

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<v Speaker 1>They have nothing to say. They just want to cash

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<v Speaker 1>the checks. That's all they care about. During the congressional hearing,

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<v Speaker 1>Black claimed that he was completely unaware of EV's Mean's

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<v Speaker 1>criminal activity, even though in two thousand and eight Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>had fleeted guilty to one count of solicitation a prostitution

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<v Speaker 1>and one count a soliciting prostitution from a person under eighteen.

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<v Speaker 1>He served thirteen months in prison. No, he didn't thirteen

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<v Speaker 1>months in a stockade. Epstein was registered sex offender for

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<v Speaker 1>the entirety of his relationship with Black. Evidently, this particular

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<v Speaker 1>black mark against Epstein didn't especially bother a Black Well

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<v Speaker 1>fellow travelers, right, The only problem would be if Epstein

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<v Speaker 1>was broke. I took it seriously, Black toll pucks William D.

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<v Speaker 1>Cohen in twenty twenty four. But I didn't take it

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<v Speaker 1>that seriously. I mean, he was with a seventeen year

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<v Speaker 1>old prostitute, got prosecuted for it and got put away

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<v Speaker 1>for a year, and Geno, according to him, even that

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<v Speaker 1>person had shown an id that she wasn't under age.

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<v Speaker 1>My feeling is there are serious things and there are

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<v Speaker 1>things that are less serious. I didn't think it was

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the world, frankly, And if you were

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<v Speaker 1>wondering why the Florida prosecution is such a gigantic black

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<v Speaker 1>eye here it is. That's their excuse, right, Oh we

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<v Speaker 1>didn't know. Well he was prosecuted for a seventeen year

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<v Speaker 1>old girl, Yeah, after he manipulated the whole entire fucking

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<v Speaker 1>process to make sure that was the only charge that stuck.

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<v Speaker 1>But sure, bang on with your bullshit. The files later

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<v Speaker 1>revealed that Black wrote a note to Epstein on his

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<v Speaker 1>fiftieth birthday, calling him best of all, a dear friend,

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<v Speaker 1>and signed it lovin kisses Leon. So you know that

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<v Speaker 1>big club that George Carlin always talked about, Well this

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<v Speaker 1>is it and you and I were still not invited.

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<v Speaker 1>All the information that goes with this episode can be

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<v Speaker 1>found in the description box.