Ben Black, the 40-year-old CEO of Trump’s US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the agency overseeing $205 billion in American overseas investment, is facing fresh scrutiny over personal and business links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, links that span an ESWW investment partnership, a 2014 Hamptons birthday celebration disputed by his father’s lawyers, and an Epstein-facilitated advisory role in the purchase of an $11.5 million townhouse, according to a new investigation by The Guardian.
Black has denied any personal or professional relationship with Epstein and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Ben Black’s father, billionaire financier Leon Black, paid Epstein $170 million between 2012 and 2017, during which Epstein was a registered sex offender following his 2008 Florida conviction, and used $62.5 million in 2021 to settle potential Epstein-related claims with his former firm, Apollo Global Management.
According to a US Virgin Islands settlement Leon Black signed, Epstein used the money to fund his sex trafficking operation. The Senate Finance Committee, under ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), has investigated the Leon Black-Epstein relationship for four years, with March 2026 findings raising “the appearance of ‘hush money’ payments and surveillance of women” on Leon Black’s behalf. Ben Black serves on the DFC board alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has acknowledged visiting Epstein’s Little Saint James island in the US Virgin Islands.
Business connection
Corporate records show that Black and members of his family invested in Environmental Solutions Worldwide (ESWW) in 2011, a diesel emissions company in which Epstein also held a stake through a Virgin Islands-based entity.
Black and his brother Joshua joined the company’s board that year. Epstein later sold his ESWW shares to a Black family investment partnership in 2012.
It remains unclear whether Ben Black knew of Epstein’s investment in the company when he acquired his stake.
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Meetings and correspondence
Documents reviewed by The Guardian indicate that Black and Epstein were connected through a series of meetings and social engagements linked to the Black family.
Records show Black was scheduled to meet Epstein in 2012 and was later listed among guests for a private tour of Google’s New York headquarters in 2013. Lawyers representing Leon Black, Ben’s father, said Ben did not attend the tour and argued that the invitation alone does not demonstrate a relationship.
Emails also show Epstein obtained Ben Black’s contact details after a family estate-planning meeting in 2013.
Birthday party dispute
One email from 2014 shows Epstein telling a friend that he had attended Ben Black’s 30th birthday celebration in the Hamptons.
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Lawyers for Leon Black disputed the claim, saying both father and son insist Epstein was not present. They argued that Epstein frequently exaggerated his associations with prominent individuals.
Just days after the birthday event, Epstein offered advice related to Ben Black’s planned purchase of an $11.5 million townhouse, according to the report.
Government role
The disclosures come as Black oversees the DFC, America’s primary overseas investment agency.
The agency’s reach has expanded significantly after Congress authorised it to invest in high-income countries and increased its lending capacity to $205 billion, giving the DFC a larger role in advancing US economic and strategic interests abroad.
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A White House spokesperson defended Black’s appointment, describing him as highly qualified for the position.
His family ties to Epstein
The report also revisits the longstanding relationship between Epstein and Ben Black’s father, billionaire financier Leon Black.
A Senate Finance Committee investigation found Leon Black paid Epstein roughly $170 million for tax and estate-planning advice. Separate media reports found Epstein also helped facilitate payments from Black to several women.
Leon Black has maintained the payments were for legitimate professional services and has never been charged with a crime related to Epstein.
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Other Trump officials linked to Epstein
The Guardian noted that Ben Black is among several Trump administration appointees whose past has intersected with Epstein.
Among them is Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private island but has not been accused of wrongdoing. Lutnick serves alongside Black on the DFC’s board.
Denials
A spokesperson for Ben Black rejected suggestions that he maintained a meaningful relationship with Epstein.
“Ben Black had no personal or professional relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” the spokesperson said.
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Neither Ben Black nor Leon Black has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the DFC did not respond to requests for comment.
