Debra Black

Debra Black is a philanthropist and co-founder of the Melanoma Research Alliance Foundation (EIN 26-1636099, $24.5M in assets, $9.3M in annual revenue), the largest private funder of melanoma research. She serves as VP, Director, Treasurer, and Secretary of the Debra and Leon Black Family Foundation and holds the same leadership roles at the Leon D Black Foundation. She is the wife of Leon Black, the billionaire co-founder and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, who paid Jeffrey Epstein approximately $158 million in advisory fees between 2012 and 2017, a relationship that led to Leon Black's resignation as Apollo chairman in 2021. Debra Black appears in 1,215 linked documents in the database. Emails show she communicated directly with Epstein, including a May 2014 email asking him to leverage his friendship with Elon Musk to get Tesla to participate in MRA's "Leverage Finance Fights Melanoma" fundraiser at Rockefeller Center (EFTA02518043).

Financial records document a $4 million bank wire from Leon and Debra Black to the Leon D Black Foundation through Epstein's financial infrastructure (EFTA02343503). The Blacks also sent Epstein a Paperless Post invitation to an "October 4th Book Celebration" in September 2010 (EFTA02421104), demonstrating ongoing social contact well after Epstein's 2008 conviction. An EFTA document shows Epstein's staff discussing Debra Black's tax filings (Form 709) alongside Leon Black's financial matters (EFTA01976464).