Leon Black Plans to Turn Woolworth Mansion Into His Own Museum, Book Reveals
The disgraced financier, whose ties to Jeffrey Epstein are being investigated in Congress, told author William D. Cohan that he wants to turn the Manhattan property into “his version of the Neue Galerie.”
Billionaire art collector Leon Black, whose ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have drawn scrutiny, intends to transform the Woolworth Mansion on East 80th Street into his personal museum, according to a forthcoming book. In Money to Burn: Leon Black, Apollo and the Remaking of Wall Street (2026), author William D. Cohan claims Black has vowed to convert the French Gothic property into an art museum of his own design, specifically likening it to the Neue Galerie.
Black acquired the mansion last November for $38 million from financier Jeffrey Epstein. The book's release coincides with mounting challenges for Black, including a recent House of Representatives vote to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas in an Epstein probe. In 2021, Black reportedly paid Epstein $158 million for financial advice, following Epstein's initial accusations of sex trafficking minors in 2005 and his subsequent conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
Black resigned from Apollo Global Management and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 2021 amidst a campaign to remove him from these positions. Despite ongoing calls for his removal from MoMA's board, Black remains a trustee there. Epstein facilitated Black's and art collector Ronald Lauder's expansion of their art collections, as revealed in Forbes documents.
Epstein also helped Black and Lauder acquire a $25 million art piece by artist Kurt Schwitters. Black has faced multiple sexual assault allegations over the years, though none have been proven. In 2021, Ganieva accused Black of sexual abuse and defamation, which a New York judge dismissed in 2025 due to her accepting a $9 million non-disclosure agreement.
In 2023, Black faced a third allegation of raping a 16-year-old girl with developmental disabilities at Epstein's Manhattan residence. A recent batch of Epstein files, released by the DOJ, included a diary with alleged abuse accounts and a plaintiff's lawsuit alleging falsified sonogram images. Despite these allegations, Black continues to aim to transform the Woolworth Mansion into a foundation housing his extensive art collection.
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