WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ben Black was appointed by Donald Trump to lead the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the U.S.'s largest overseas investment arm. The DFC has a lending cap of $205 billion and is funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Congress recently expanded the DFC's authority to invest in high-income countries and tripled its lending cap. Black assumed his leadership position three weeks after co-authoring a January 2025 essay with Joe Lonsdale that called for a pro-market approach to foreign aid. The publication cited investments in Greenland as a promising economic sector. Donald Trump previously expressed interest in controlling Greenland, a Danish territory.
SEC filings indicate Black invested in Environmental Solutions Worldwide (ESWW) in 2011, the same entity where Jeffrey Epstein held a 6% stake through a Virgin Islands shell company named Financial Trust. Ben Black and his brother Joshua Black became directors of Environmental Solutions Worldwide in 2011.
A Department of Justice release included emails and business filings showing years of interactions between Ben Black and Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein told a friend he had attended Black's 30th birthday party and advised Black on the purchase of an $11.5 million townhouse. A woman wrote to Epstein saying she had kissed Black the day after Epstein helped her draft messages to him. Black attended the Dalton School in New York City, where Epstein taught mathematics and physics during the 1970s. He graduated from the institution in 2002.
Black earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by dual master's degrees in business and law from Harvard University, and a master's degree in taxation from New York University.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick serves on the DFC's board of directors alongside Black. Lutnick acknowledged traveling to Epstein's private island but has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to those visits. Trump appointed at least three men with documented connections to Epstein to federal office. The DFC did not respond to a request for comment on the leadership appointments.
In a statement addressing the released documents, a personal spokesperson for Ben Black said, "Ben Black had no personal or professional relationship with Jeffrey Epstein." Black has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or any other legal matter.