For a decade, Leon Black quietly built one of the largest cruise lines in the world. As CEO of Apollo Global Management, he was instrumental in creating Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings into the three-brand cruise conglomerate giant it is today. He also was secretly paying Jeffrey Epstein $170 million.

From 2012 to 2017, Black paid Epstein millions annually for what he claimed were tax and estate planning services. Black made the payments despite the fact that Epstein was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution in 2008 and was required to register as a sexual offender.

The payments drew intense scrutiny once publicly revealed by the New York Times in 2020 and ultimately led to Black stepping down as CEO of Apollo in 2021. In 2023, U.S. Senate investigators concluded the payments to Epstein were “inexplicably large.”

Black has faced multiple allegations of sexual assault committed at Epstein’s properties. According to a lawsuit filed against Black, at least one alleged sexual assault appears to have been particularly violent, and resulted in a 16 year-old autistic child with the developmental capacity of a 12-year-old, to become seriously injured, bleeding and denied medical treatment. Read: Billionaire Leon Black Accused of Raping Jeffrey Epstein’s “Special Girl.” Like all men identified in the Epstein Files, Black has vigorously denied all allegations and has never been charged with a crime.

Apollo Global Management and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings

Black is one of the most consequential and least known figures in modern cruise industry history. As founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, one of Wall Street’s most powerful private equity firms, Black assembled a cruise empire that included Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Apollo’s involvement began in 2008 when the firm paid $1 billion for a 50% ownership stake in NCL and majority control of the board of directors, rescuing the company from financial stress. Apollo also acquired Oceania Cruises in 2007 and Regent Seven Seas Cruises in 2008. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings went public in January 2013 with Apollo holding a 32.5% stake. In 2014, Apollo sold Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for $3.025 billion. The deal created the three-brand Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings structure that still exists today. Apollo fully exited Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in December 2018, reaping billions in profits over a decade of control.

It was during this same period — while Black sat atop a cruise empire worth billions — he was quietly paying convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein $170 million.

Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein

Black and Epstein were introduced by a mutual friend in the mid-1990s. The relationship grew quickly with Black making Epstein a director of his family foundation in 1997. In 2003, Black gave a handwritten poem to Epstein and signed it “Love and kisses, Leon.”

In 2012, Black began paying Epstein ostensibly for advice on taxes, estate planning, and the operation of his family office. Epstein’s services were unconventional, poorly documented, and far more expensive than other professional advisors.

The extent of Black and Epstein’s relationship was revealed in 2020 when the New York Times reported Black paid at least $50 million to Epstein. Following this, Apollo hired law firm Dechert LLP to conduct an independent review of Black’s relationship with Epstein. Apollo released a statement on January 25, 2021 that concluded Apollo never retained Epstein for any services and that “Dechert found no evidence that Mr. Black was involved in any way with Mr. Epstein’s criminal activities at any time.”

Black resigned as CEO of Apollo in March 2021.

Bloomberg reported in February 2026 that Epstein functioned as a personal fixer for Black, helping him conceal an extramarital affair, managing the tax implications of a nearly $10 million nondisclosure agreement, and structuring art transactions to shield Black from capital gains taxes.

Sexual Assault and Trafficking Allegations Against Black

At least four women have accused Black of sexual assaulting them including two women who separately alleged Black raped them in Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2002. One woman has withdrawn her lawsuit, while the other lawsuit is still pending. Black has denied all assault allegations and has never been charged with any crime.

The Epstein files contain a complete record of the Leon Black criminal investigation from 2019 — 2024 which reveal that multiple victims came forward with sexual assault allegations against Black including a victim accusing Black of rape, sex trafficking, and the alleged forced signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) under pressure.

Since 2022, Senator Ron Wyden and the Senate Finance Committee have investigated the payments by Black to Epstein. The investigation was prompted by “inconsistencies in a report by the law firm Dechert LLP.” In March 2025, the committee released a report where Senator Wyden states, “my staff have uncovered new evidence, including through review of federal government records, indicating that money paid by Black to Epstein was used to finance Epstein’s sex trafficking operations.”

The report references a $62.5 million settlement between Black and the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands that states “Jeffrey Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands.” The settlement gives Black immunity from criminal prosecution in the U.S. Virgin Islands for all matters related to Epstein.

In response to a New York Times article in October of 2025 regarding Black’s payments to Epstein, Senator Wyden said, “This report raises questions as to whether there was more at play in the relationship between these two men, potentially including blackmail.”

Epstein and the Cruise Industry

Black was not the only powerful figure in the cruise industry with deep ties to Epstein. Cruise Law News previously reported that Royal Caribbean figures Tom Pritzker and Philip Levine had decade long relationships with Epstein. Pritzker, a former Royal Caribbean board member whose family held a controlling ownership stake in the company, invited Epstein aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 2011. Pritzker resigned from Hyatt Hotels in February 2026, citing what he called “terrible judgment” in maintaining contact with Epstein and Maxwell (who was also invited on a Royal Caribbean ship when it was christened in New York City in 2001).

Black has maintained that Epstein’s advice was legitimate and that he deeply regrets the relationship. Apollo has stated that Epstein never invested in or did business with its funds, and that no one at the firm other than Black had a relationship with him.

The payments, the documents in the Epstein files, and the extensive reporting that has followed paint a picture of two men who were deeply intertwined. $170 million is an extraordinary sum to pay for professional services, even among the hyper-wealthy figures who populated Epstein’s circle, making Black one of Epstein’s most significant financial enablers.

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Cover Image: Leon Black – Apollo Management Group via Nevada Current; Jeffrey Epstein – Florida Department of Law Enforcement via Nevada Current