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yes, I read it. But his networking skills must have been really good? these billionaires have many people knock on their doors, and there are thousands of people like him per square mile in NYC, what made him stand out? exceptional social skills and sales?

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If I could make $150 mil from ONE client as a tax accountant, I’m going to quit IB and get a masters in accounting / tax degree.

However I’m pretty sure the child sex ring is an important part of the $150mm fee so I will stick with IB. The article even mentions how unusual it is to receive fees of that size. There was something else going on there

 

Did you read the article? Most people were shocked by the 10% fee, especially because Epstein didn’t do any of the actual work and it was all outsourced to various law and tax accounting firms. If Leon black did it one time and vowed to never work with him again (similar to the person in the article), I would be less skeptical. But paying Epstein millions over and over again while also paying the accounting and legal firms that do all the work? Just bizarre 

Also fees tend to come WAY down as deal size goes up - just like in M&A. You’re not getting 3% of EV for a $100bn deal the way you would for $250mm deal. $150mm is an absurd fee

 
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Ok, so the discussion is now whether Leon Black is a pervert or just a complete financial idiot? Easier to prove the former than the latter if you think about it.

Epstein told him about the tax savings of compounding with trusts....anyone who has passed the CFA could have told you that.  It doesn't warrant a $158 million fee.

Some posters have noted, "But he saved $2 billion!"...yeah I'm sure he did.  But if I'm a lawyer and I set up a basic LLC for you which goes on to earn $2.0 billion as a successful business, it would be really dumb to claim that I MADE $2.0 billion for you.  The lawyer just set up a very basic legal structure.

Same here. Trusts for estate planning are not something special and magical. Only if you are not aware of how they work does this sound like some sort of bespoke service. He could have hired any tax lawyer to do the same for him for a much much lower fee.

 

Side note: And again....why do a $158 million dollar deal with someone who has to outsource services to other lawyers?  That's insane doesn't make sense.

What would I do as Leon Black? Contact any one of the professional Wall Street law firms that I've literally done hundreds of deals with in my career and get advice from someone who actually has a law degree....yeah maybe that makes a little more sense.

 

Why do mainstream media organizations like carrying water for Epstein? Oh wait...

 

People are forgetting Epstein was CONVICTED of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute back in 2008.

Why would any self-respecting human (let alone a billionaire) do business with a man after that? It's clear Epstein had dirt on Black. Otherwise, as countless others have mentioned, why not go to an actual tax attorney with a CFA at a fraction of the cost.

 

People are forgetting Epstein was CONVICTED of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute back in 2008.

Why would any self-respecting human (let alone a billionaire) do business with a man after that? It's clear Epstein had dirt on Black. Otherwise, as countless others have mentioned, why not go to an actual tax attorney with a CFA at a fraction of the cost.

Yup. This is blackmail / extortion 101

You all don’t think Black had access to the very best lawyers and accountants in the world??

 

“In 2019, Mr. Epstein killed himself inside a Manhattan jail cell”

lies 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Is there any way that Epstein knew of some tax loophole that the guys at Paul Weiss, etc didn't know about? In other words, he was able to save Black $2B that no one else in the market was capable of doing? Don't know anything about how commoditized or not commoditized the tax law / accounting field is. Are all the loopholes / strategies more or less known by everyone?

 

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"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

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