Joshua Harris
Co-founder of Apollo Global Management with at least eight documented meetings with Epstein (2013-2014), direct email correspondence, and explicit inclusion in Epstein's Athene fee proposal requiring "marc and josh" to sign on; later shifted to attorney-mediated contact through Mintz Levin and was a subject of a multi-firm IRS Form 8865 compliance effort coordinated by Epstein.
Joshua Harris (born 1965) is an American billionaire, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, and owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and Washington Commanders. The January 2021 Dechert LLP investigation, commissioned by Apollo's own Conflicts Committee, concluded that the Epstein relationship was primarily with Leon Black and that "neither co-founder hired Epstein." The documentary record from DOJ Volume 11 and House Oversight releases complicates this conclusion. Harris had at minimum eight confirmed in-person meetings with Epstein between October 2013 and February 2014, starting with an October 22, 2013 session at 7:30am that included all three Apollo founders 1. He exchanged casual direct emails from his Apollo account 2, provided Epstein with "organizational docs" at Epstein's request 3, and was explicitly named in Epstein's January 2016 fee proposal for Athene restructuring advisory work: "marc and josh would have to sign on" 4.
The relationship evolved over time. Michael Wolff's unpublished Epstein profile, found in multiple drafts among House Oversight documents 56, placed Harris at dinners at Epstein's 9 East 71st Street residence after the 2008 conviction. By late 2013, Harris was attending early-morning meetings at the residence. A November 2014 email exchange 2 captures the personal tone: Harris wrote "Hey Jeff. Sorry i missed you. Crazy week?" and asked "Whats this Bill Gates thing about?" Epstein was arranging a December 5, 2014 dinner introduction to Bill Gates 7. By 2016, the contact shifted from social networking toward sensitive corporate and tax matters. In September 2016, Harris began routing communications through attorney Bob Bodian of Mintz Levin 8. By December 2016, three law firms (Mintz Levin, Paul Weiss, Akin Gump) were coordinating on "the Josh tax letter" regarding IRS Form 8865 filings 9, and Brad Karp, chairman of Paul Weiss, was personally forwarding the correspondence to Epstein.
Documented Meetings and the Personal Relationship
The documentary record establishes at least eight confirmed in-person meetings between Harris and Epstein in a four-month period from October 2013 to February 2014. The first documented meeting was the October 22, 2013 session at 7:30am at Epstein's residence that included all three Apollo co-founders: Harris, Leon Black, and Marc Rowan 1. The scheduling emails show that "Leon is asking if you could do earlier... 7 or 7:30am... Josh will do it then and Melanie is checking with Marc" 1. The coordination required to get three billionaires to a single 7:30am appointment suggests high-priority business.
Harris returned for a solo breakfast with Epstein on November 7, 2013 10. When both Harris and Rowan were traveling that same week, Lesley Groff attempted to organize a conference call between the three of them 11. Harris visited again on December 4, 2013 12, returned Epstein's call on December 9 1314, and visited on January 9, 2014 from 11:15am to 12:15pm 15 -- the same day as Michael Wolff at 9am, Boris Nikolic at 5pm, and Benny Shabtai at 7pm. A "TBD" appointment was scheduled alongside Black's February 13, 2014 lunch 16. On February 6, 2014, Groff asked Epstein about following up on "organizational docs" Harris had been asked to provide 3, indicating that information was flowing in both directions: Epstein was requesting and receiving internal Apollo documents from Harris.
A November 26, 2014 email exchange captures the personal dimension. Harris, writing from his Apollo account, messaged Epstein: "Hey Jeff. Sorry i missed you. Crazy week? U around any time from now to sunday? Whats this Bill Gates thing about? Tks for thinking about me" 2. Epstein replied: "call me tomorw if you get a chance-I thought you might like to schmooze, get some of his ideas etc. nothing but fun friday 5th breakfast." Harris responded: "Cool. Will do. Thx." A separate scheduling document confirms Epstein was organizing a December 5 dinner with Bill Gates that included both Harris and Ron Baron 7. The exchange shows a casual personal friendship conducted through Harris's official Apollo email, and Epstein functioning as a broker of introductions to individuals like Gates.
The Athene Fee and the Apollo Triad
The documentary evidence against the "Black-only" narrative centers on Epstein's own fee proposal. On January 18, 2016, Epstein emailed Melanie Spinella, Leon Black's executive assistant at Apollo: "I propose a 25% fee based on benefit to all founders... if there is a 300 overall benefit, then each founder would pay 25 m... If OK with you, marc and josh would have to sign on" 4. The fee structure explicitly required Harris's agreement. The proposed total -- up to $75 million, split equally among three founders at $25 million each -- was predicated on Epstein's advisory work on the Athene restructuring, a transaction Epstein elsewhere described as involving "2 billion in taxes on transaction." Epstein forwarded this email to himself on March 25, 2017 4, likely preserving the record for leverage or negotiation purposes.
Seven months later, Epstein's "leon agenda" memo of August 15, 2016 17 listed fourteen action items for his meeting with Black, including "10 apollo insurance AThene" and "14. sit with josh and mark re amendments." Epstein was managing the Athene restructuring as a single workstream that required coordination among all three founders. The "amendments" likely refer to modifications to the Apollo partnership agreement or the BRH Holdings LP structure through which the founders held their Apollo and Athene interests.
Separately, Epstein told Rowan directly: "I am waiting on you to decide whether you want me to move forward, and if, and only if successful, what you three propose as a fee" 18. The phrase "you three" confirms Epstein understood his client as the founding partnership, not Leon Black individually. A Black Family Partners cash flow projection from December 2014 19 shows the Athene capital call at $7.6 million as the single largest disbursement -- context for why Epstein structured the fee to spread across all three founders rather than loading it onto Black alone.
The Bodian Intermediary and Legal Sophistication
In September 2016, the character of Harris's communications with Epstein shifted. Rather than emailing directly from his Apollo account as he had in 2014, Harris began routing contact through Bob Bodian, a partner at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. On September 15, 2016, Bodian emailed Epstein: "Reaching out per Josh request. Reachable tomorrow on cell after 1:30" 8. Epstein replied on September 17: "does now work?" Scheduling documents confirm Bodian-Epstein calls on September 17-18, 2016 2021. The shift from casual direct emails to attorney-mediated contact suggests the relationship had entered territory Harris considered legally sensitive enough to warrant the formality and privilege protections of outside counsel as intermediary.
The reason for this shift became apparent three months later. On December 11, 2016, Bodian organized a conference call with Alan Halperin (Paul Weiss partner) and Patrick Fenn (Akin Gump partner) with the subject line "Quick call re the Josh tax letter" 9. Bodian stated: "The subject of the call will be the statement that Taxpayers are not under civil or criminal investigation" 9. Three law firms were now coordinating on a single tax compliance matter involving Harris -- the IRS Form 8865 reasonable cause filing for the Apollo founders' BRH Holdings LP structure, a Cayman Islands partnership. The Form 8865 issue concerned the founders' failure to file information returns about their foreign partnership interests, carrying potential penalties in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Brad Karp, chairman of Paul Weiss, personally forwarded this email chain to Jeffrey Epstein with the notation "Fyi, Jeffrey" 9. The chairman of one of America's most prominent law firms was keeping a convicted sex offender informed of his client's sensitive IRS compliance matters. Separately, Brad Wechsler (IMAX CEO, Black Family Office) wrote to Epstein: "is PW writing for all three guys?" 22 -- confirming that Paul Weiss was drafting reasonable cause statements for all three Apollo co-founders, not just Black. Epstein was the central coordinator of this multi-firm tax compliance effort, with Karp, Bodian, and Fenn all reporting to or through him on matters affecting Harris's personal tax liability.
Epstein as Intelligence and Access Broker
Beyond tax advisory work, Epstein's value to Harris included his role as a broker of introductions and information. The Bill Gates dinner invitation is the clearest example: Epstein positioned himself as the connector between Harris and one of the world's wealthiest individuals, framing the introduction as an opportunity to "schmooze, get some of his ideas" 2. A scheduling document shows Epstein organizing the December 5, 2014 dinner with Gates for both Harris and Ron Baron 7. The deposition-style questions found in House Oversight documents 23 list Harris alongside Kairat Kelimbetov (Kazakh banker), Nathan Myhrvold (former Microsoft CTO), Martin Nowak (Harvard evolutionary biologist), and Richard Axel (Columbia neuroscientist and Nobel laureate) -- illustrating the breadth of Epstein's contact network that Harris accessed.
Michael Wolff's unpublished Epstein profiles, found in four variant drafts among House Oversight documents 562425, describe the phenomenon from the inside. Wolff observed Harris attending post-conviction dinners at 9 East 71st Street, asking: "The question is why, in the face of such disgrace, with the paparazzi so near, the high and mighty still come? Perhaps simply that it's intelligence of a high order" 5. For someone in Harris's position -- managing one of the world's largest alternative asset portfolios -- access to Epstein's network meant access to non-public perspectives from government officials, scientists, technologists, and sovereign wealth fund managers. An Apollo analyst meeting note found in Epstein's files 26 documented Harris discussing Athene, C-corp conversion, and Fund VIII performance with CFO Martin Kelly -- confirming that Epstein was simultaneously monitoring Apollo's public disclosures alongside his private advisory work.
The Dechert Gap and the Public Record
The Dechert investigation was led by a firm with extensive private equity relationships, and its scope was defined by Apollo's own Conflicts Committee rather than an independent regulator. The documentary record assembled from DOJ Volume 11 and House Oversight Committee releases calls into question whether the inquiry's focus on Leon Black captured the full scope of the founders' engagement with Epstein.
Five documentary points bear on this question. First, the October 22, 2013 three-founder meeting at Epstein's residence 1 places all three co-founders together with Epstein in a single documented event. Second, Epstein's fee proposal explicitly requiring "marc and josh" to "sign on" 4 names Harris as a necessary counterparty. Third, Epstein's "leon agenda" item to "sit with josh and mark re amendments" 17 treats the three founders as a single client unit. Fourth, Paul Weiss was "writing for all three guys" on the Form 8865 reasonable cause statements 22, with Epstein as the central coordinator. Fifth, Brad Karp personally forwarded Harris's sensitive tax compliance correspondence to Epstein 9. The Dechert report's conclusion that the relationship was primarily with Black and that "neither co-founder hired Epstein" is technically possible only if "hired" is defined to exclude the arrangement where Epstein proposed fees to all three founders, coordinated their tax compliance through multiple law firms, and was kept informed of their IRS filings by the chairman of Paul Weiss.
Harris left Apollo in 2024 to launch 26North Partners LP, a multi-strategy investment firm. His 2024 acquisition of the Washington Commanders, approved by NFL owners in July 2023, received scrutiny over his Epstein connections during the vetting process. FEC records show Harris's political donations through 26North Partners LP, including a $5,000 contribution to Gridiron-PAC (September 2024). Harris and Rowan continue to share institutional ties through the Wharton School advisory board 2728, and the coordinated political donation patterns identified across all three Apollo founders -- 15+ shared congressional recipients including McConnell, Cotton, Graham, Barrasso, and Rubio -- suggest the co-founder partnership continues to operate as a political unit long after the formal business relationship has been restructured.
All Connections
13 total
All Connections
13 totalAll three Apollo co-founders (Black, Rowan, Harris) were jointly involved in Epstein's advisory work. Epstein's Athene fee proposal required 'marc and josh' to sign on. Leon agenda mentioned 'sit with josh and mark re amendments.' Epstein referred to all three as 'you three' in fee negotiations.
Apollo Global co-founders [public knowledge]
Coordinated political donations: 15+ shared recipients including McConnell, Cotton, Graham
Coordinated political donations plus shared Wharton advisory board positions
Co-directors on Apollo Global Management board. Harris as Managing Partner/co-founder, Kraft as independent director 2014-2021.
All Findings
13 total
All Findings
13 totalfinancial (3)
Epstein explicitly named Harris as a party who needed to sign off on his 25% Athene advisory fee proposal. In Jan 18 2016 email to Melanie Spinella (Leon Black assistant), Epstein wrote: 'I propose a 25% fee based on benefit to all founders...if there is a 300 overall benefit, then each founder would pay 25 m...If OK with you, marc and josh would have to sign on.' This confirms (1) Epstein expected compensation from ALL three Apollo co-founders, not just Black, (2) Harris was aware of Epstein's advisory role on the Athene restructuring, and (3) the proposed total fee was up to 75M (25% of 300M benefit). Epstein forwarded this email to himself on Mar 25 2017 (EFTA02655647), likely for record-keeping.
Epstein's 'leon agenda' memo (Aug 15 2016) includes item '14. sit with josh and mark re amendments' alongside '10 apollo insurance AThene.' This confirms Epstein was simultaneously managing all three Apollo co-founders' business. The 'amendments' likely refer to Apollo partnership agreement modifications needed for the Athene merger/restructuring. Harris and Rowan were not passive bystanders to the Black-Epstein relationship -- they were active participants in Epstein's advisory work on Apollo corporate matters, including the B Athene tax optimization, TRA modifications, and corporate inversion planning.
FEC DONATION OVERLAP ANALYSIS: All three Apollo co-founders donated to overlapping political recipients. Both Rowan and Harris donated to John Barrasso (R-WY): Rowan ,900 (Dec 2021), Harris ,600 (Jul 2019). Both donated to Marco Rubio (R-FL): Rowan ,800 (Dec 2021). PTJ also donated to Rubio (,800, Mar 2021). All three Apollo founders and PTJ donated to the Managed Funds Association PAC (industry lobbying group). Harris's 26North Partners LP made a ,000 contribution to Gridiron-PAC (Sep 2024). Rowan donated ,000 to NY Republican Federal Campaign Committee (Dec 2025). PTJ donated to both parties: K Biden Victory Fund, K Honor Pennsylvania, K Keystone Renewal PAC, and .8K to Rubio. The shared Barrasso/Rubio donations and MFA PAC contributions show the Apollo triad moved in a coordinated political giving pattern.
communication (1)
Harris and Epstein had a direct, casual email relationship. On Nov 26 2014, Harris emailed Epstein from his Apollo account: 'Hey Jeff. Sorry i missed you. Crazy week? U around any time from now to sunday? Whats this Bill Gates thing about? Tks for thinking about me.' Epstein replied: 'call me tomorw if you get a chance-I thought you might like to schmooze, get some of his ideas etc. nothing but fun friday 5th breakfast.' Harris responded: 'Cool. Will do. Thx.' This establishes Epstein was brokering introductions between Harris and Bill Gates for a Dec 5 2014 breakfast/dinner, alongside Ron Baron (EFTA02595966). The casual tone indicates established personal friendship, not formal business contact.
relationship (3)
Multiple versions of Michael Wolff's unpublished Epstein profile (HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024239, 022905, 022753, 022850) describe Harris attending dinners at Epstein's 9 E 71st residence post-conviction: 'Then Josh Harris, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management ( billion under management) and owner of the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia 76ers.' One variant asks: 'The question is why, in the face of such disgrace, with the paparazzi so near, the high and mighty still come? Perhaps simply that it's intelligence of a high order.' Another asks: 'Perhaps it's just the ultimate feminist nightmare: Men continue to come to Epstein's because -- no matter their public bows to modern manners -- they simply don't care that he offends every aspect...' Harris is listed alongside Richard Axel (Nobel laureate) and Ron Baron (B). Separately, deposition-style questions (HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_025876) ask Epstein: 'Did you then meet with the following: Hardeep Purie, Kairat Kelimbetov, Nathan Myhrvold, Martin Nowak, Richard Axel, Ron Baron, Josh Harris?'
Joshua Harris (Apollo co-founder) had at minimum 8 confirmed in-person meetings with Epstein from Oct 2013 to Feb 2014: (1) Oct 22 2013 7:30am meeting with Harris, Leon Black, AND Marc Rowan at Epstein residence (EFTA02576529). (2) Nov 7 2013 7:30am breakfast with Epstein (EFTA02576791). (3) Conference call organized with Rowan when both traveling Nov 2013 (EFTA02576924). (4) Dec 4 2013 10am appointment followed by Josh Ramo at 11am, then lunch w/Trivers, then Barak at 3pm (EFTA02578942). (5) Harris returned Epstein's call Dec 9 2013 (EFTA02677497/EFTA02578405). (6) Jan 9 2014 11:15am-12:15pm visit at Epstein residence, same day as Wolff 9am, Boris Nikolic 5pm, Benny Shabtai 7pm (EFTA02578836). (7) Feb 6 2014 Groff asks about following up on organizational docs Harris requested (EFTA02581638). (8) Feb 13 2014 TBD apt with Harris, 12:30pm lunch with Leon Black, then Joslin and Turrin (EFTA02581474).
WHARTON CONNECTION: Both Marc Rowan and Joshua Harris serve on the Wharton School advisory board. Rowan is Board of Advisors Chair (LittleSis rel 1815000), Harris is Advisory Board member (LittleSis rel 1915027). This is significant because Epstein negotiated fees with Rowan using WPPI (Wharton Public Policy Initiative) as the payment vehicle: Rowan responded 'WPPI...care of MR' (EFTA02191). The Wharton connection pre-dates and may have facilitated the Apollo founders' collective engagement with Epstein. PTJ is NOT connected to Wharton (he attended UVA).
legal (2)
EFTA02667860 reveals a conference call on Dec 11, 2016 between Bob Bodian (Mintz Levin, Harris intermediary), Alan Halperin (Paul Weiss partner), and Patrick Fenn (Akin Gump partner) with subject line 'Quick call re the Josh tax letter.' Bodian stated: 'The subject of the call will be the statement that Taxpayers are not under civil or criminal investigation.' This establishes that Harris's tax matter (the Form 8865 reasonable cause filing) was serious enough to require coordination between three major law firms (Mintz Levin, Paul Weiss, Akin Gump) and involved representations to the IRS about the investigation status of the 'Taxpayers' (i.e., the Apollo founders). Brad Karp personally forwarded this email chain to Jeffrey Epstein with 'Fyi, Jeffrey.' This means Epstein was being kept informed of Harris's sensitive IRS tax compliance matter by Paul Weiss's chairman himself.
EFTA02670537/EFTA02670773: Brad Wechsler (IMAX CEO, Leon Black Family Office) wrote to Jeffrey Epstein: 'I got a download from jc and rj on the 8865 call earlier today and there is an issue I would like to discuss with you. Also, are you interacting with brad karp on the reasonable cause cover note or do you want me to? Finally, is PW writing for all three guys?' This confirms: (1) Paul Weiss (PW) was drafting the IRS Form 8865 reasonable cause statements for ALL THREE Apollo co-founders (Black, Rowan, Harris -- 'all three guys'), not just Black. (2) Brad Karp (Paul Weiss chairman) was personally involved in the 'reasonable cause cover note.' (3) Epstein was the central coordinator of this tax compliance effort. (4) 'jc and rj' = John Castrucci and Richard Joslin (Family Office employees). The 8865 issue concerned failure to file information returns about foreign partnership interests (BRH Holdings LP), carrying potential penalties in the hundreds of millions. This destroys Dechert's finding that 'neither co-founder hired Epstein' -- Paul Weiss was doing legal work for 'all three guys' on an issue Epstein was coordinating.
intelligence (2)
APOLLO TRIAD COMPREHENSIVE TIMELINE: All three Apollo co-founders had direct engagement with Epstein, contradicting the Dechert LLP report's framing that Epstein's relationship was primarily with Black. Evidence: (1) Oct 22 2013: Three-founder meeting (Harris+Black+Rowan) at Epstein's residence at 7:30am (EFTA02576529). (2) Oct-Nov 2013: Groff tried to organize Harris+Rowan conference call when both traveling (EFTA02576924). (3) Nov 7 2013: Harris breakfast alone with Epstein. (4) Dec 4 2013-Jan 9 2014: Harris 4 more visits. (5) Dec 2015-Aug 2016: Rowan 3+ confirmed meetings plus extensive email correspondence on TRA, inversion, Athene, Form 8865. (6) Jan 9 2016: Black directs Rowan to call Epstein re DAFs. (7) Jan 18 2016: Epstein proposes 25% Athene fee naming 'marc and josh' -- all three must sign. (8) Feb 12 2016: Epstein to Rowan: 'waiting on you to decide...what you three propose as a fee.' (9) Aug 15 2016: Leon agenda includes 'sit with josh and mark re amendments.' (10) Sept 2016: Harris routes through Bodian/Mintz Levin. (11) Apr 2018: Ruemmler asks Epstein 'Have I met Marc Rowan?' The Dechert investigation (Jan 2021) was commissioned by Apollo's own Conflicts Committee and concluded the relationship was primarily Black-Epstein. This documentary record proves otherwise.
Harris delegated Bob Bodian (Partner at Mintz Levin law firm, [email protected]) as his intermediary with Epstein in Sept 2016. On Sept 15, Bodian emailed Epstein: 'Reaching out per Josh request. Reachable tomorrow on cell after 1:30.' Epstein replied Sept 17: 'does now work?' Multiple scheduling documents show Bodian-Epstein calls on Sept 17-18 2016 (EFTA02451909, EFTA02329688). This is significant because it shows Harris maintaining the Epstein relationship through a legal intermediary at a prominent law firm 8 years after Epstein's 2008 conviction, and that the relationship required enough legal sophistication to route through outside counsel rather than direct communication.
document (2)
Epstein requested 'organizational docs' from Harris in early 2014. On Feb 6 2014, Lesley Groff asked Epstein: 'Did you want me to follow up with Josh Harris and the organizational docs you requested?' (EFTA02581638). The nature of these organizational documents is not specified but given the timing (right after Apollo Global Management's Jan 2014 IPO transition) and Epstein's role as tax/structure adviser to all three Apollo founders, these likely pertained to Apollo corporate structure, partnership agreements, or tax-related organizational documents. This demonstrates Harris was providing Epstein access to Apollo internal documents at Epstein's request.
An Apollo analyst meeting note (HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026634) was found in Epstein's files, documenting a meeting with 'Apollo Co-Founder Josh Harris and CFO Martin Kelly' discussing Apollo's growth outlook, Athene, tax reform implications (carried interest rates, C-corp conversion, interest deductibility), and Fund VIII performance (B+ projected cash carry). The analyst note (by Michael Carrier, CFA) maintained a Neutral rating with price target. The presence of this document in Epstein's files is consistent with Epstein monitoring Apollo's public disclosures and business strategy alongside his private advisory role. The document discusses the exact topics Epstein was advising on privately (Athene, tax structure, C-corp conversion) -- confirming Epstein had both insider access AND public market intelligence on Apollo simultaneously.
Full Timeline
14 events
Full Timeline
14 events- 1.EFTA02576529
- 2.EFTA02349711
- 3.EFTA02581638
- 4.EFTA02655647
- 5.HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024239
- 6.HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022905
- 7.EFTA02595966
- 8.EFTA02450532
- 9.EFTA02667860
- 10.EFTA02576791
- 11.EFTA02576924
- 12.EFTA02578942
- 13.EFTA02677497
- 14.EFTA02578405
- 15.EFTA02578836
- 16.EFTA02581474
- 17.EFTA02455405
- 18.EFTA02471986
- 19.EFTA02371750
- 20.EFTA02451909
- 21.EFTA02329688
- 22.EFTA02670537
- 23.HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_025876
- 24.HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022753
- 25.HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022850
- 26.HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026634
- 27.LittleSis 1815000
- 28.LittleSis 1915027