Trump appointee leading $205bn US agency had personal ties to Epstein, emails show

• 01Ben Black is head of the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a government investment agency funded by billions of taxpayer dollars.
• 02According to Department of Justice records, Ben Black invested in the same company as Jeffrey Epstein in 2011 and had a relationship with Epstein for several years afterward.
• 03Epstein attended Ben Black's 30th birthday, advised him on the purchase of an $11.5m townhouse, and helped compose messages between Black and a woman who later reported kissing Black.
• 04Ben Black's father, Leon Black, was Epstein's highest-paying client and called on Epstein for tax advice and to orchestrate payments to women, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg.
• 05Congress recently expanded the DFC's mandate to invest in high-income countries and tripled its lending cap to $205 billion.
• 06Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, traveled to Epstein's private island and sits on the DFC's board of directors alongside Ben Black.
• 07Ben Black's personal spokesperson stated: 'Ben Black had no personal or professional relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.'
• 08In January 2025, Ben Black and Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale coauthored an essay calling for a 'pro-market' approach to foreign aid, citing Biden administration missteps and investment opportunities in Greenland.
• 09Three weeks after the essay's publication, Trump appointed Ben Black, age 41, to lead the DFC.
• 10Leon Black's lawyers stated that Leon Black has no current ties to Russia, never did business with Trump, and that being in Moscow at the same time as Trump 30 years ago in 1996 has no news value.

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Ben Black, head of the Trump administration's Development Finance Corporation (DFC), had personal and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein spanning several years beginning in 2011, according to Department of Justice records reviewed by the Guardian. Ben Black's father, Leon Black, was Epstein's highest-paying client. Black's lawyers deny any personal or professional relationship between Ben Black and Epstein, and Black has not been accused of wrongdoing. The DFC, recently authorized to invest in high-income countries with its lending cap tripled to $205 billion, also includes Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on its board, who testified that he traveled to Epstein's private island.