The Swamp: Epstein’s Billionaire Pal Is VIP at Trump Inauguration Caviar Party

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The Swamp

It’s a Beast of a time in D.C. Donald Trump’s Washington reality show is full of new characters, plot twists and cliffhangers, and the Daily Beast will navigate you through it. The 47th president won’t need to drain The Swamp. It’s all leaking here…

Epstein’s Billionaire Pal Parties Up a Storm at Caviar Table

If there is one moment that sums up the testosterone tsunami sweeping across Washington it is the billionaire one-time Jeffrey Epstein pal Leon Black at the caviar table at a swish new elite members’ club located in a building named after felon-turned-philanthropist Michael Milken.

Outside, a truck was winding around the police barricades with a video screen saying: “Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself.”

Leon Black–seen in 2018 before he was ousted from Apollo for taking $150m from Epstein–was back with a bang in D.C., lavished with attention by revelers at its newest and most exclusive venue. / Lucy Nicholson / REUTERS
Leon Black–seen in 2018 before he was ousted from Apollo for taking $150m from Epstein–was back with a bang in D.C., lavished with attention by revelers at its newest and most exclusive venue. / Lucy Nicholson / REUTERS

Inside, Black and Milken mingled with well-heeled guests on Saturday night at Washington’s new “It” place, Ned’s Club, the glamorous Soho House-spin off with an eagle-eye view of the White House that pulled out all the stops for its soft opening over three nights. Black was spotted holding court to a gaggle of awestruck young men beside a table whose centerpiece was a mound of caviar surrounded by glasses of champagne.

In the most exclusive club, a recipient of $150mm from Epstein was feted; outside Trump supporters believe his death was a conspiracy. / The Swamp/Daily Beast
In the most exclusive club, a recipient of $150mm from Epstein was feted; outside Trump supporters believe his death was a conspiracy. / The Swamp/Daily Beast

It’s been a good week for Black, whose net worth is $17.4 billion. He was forced to step down as Apollo Global Management’s chief executive in 2021 after he was found to have paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning. But a judge just sided with the 73-year-old investor by rejecting a defamation claim by a woman who accused him of rape. (In the course of the litigation, it was disclosed that Black had given the woman a $100,000 monthly stipend.)

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Complicated pasts are de rigueur. It’s the land of bilk and money. Welcome to Donald Trump's D.C.

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Spotted: New Power Elite Not Wearing The Emperor’s New Clothes

There was barely a MAGA cap to be seen inside the plethora of plush parties for the new power elite.

The new president and Melania, JD and Usha Vance, Elon Musk and new buddy Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sánchez all tucked into Osetra caviar on a golden egg, beef Wellington and apple pie (naturally) at a Sunday night fund-raising Candlelight Dinner at the National Building Museum.

Over at Charlie Kirk’s Turning point USA inaugural ball on Saturday, Vance joined Donald Trump Jr., Kash Patel and others partying to Village People at the Salamander Hotel. Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s counterterrorism chief pick, was chatting with model Amber Rose. Republican billionaire heiress Andrea Catsimatidis was also holding court, as were Fox News host “Judge” Jeanine Pirro and Trump lawyer Alina Habba.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: Alina Habba, Senior Advisor to President Donald J. Trump, (second right), Sergio Gor (third right), Donald Trump Jr. (4th right), Charlie Kirk (center), and Kid Rock (left) on stage with The Village People during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) / Samuel Corum / Getty Images

Sergio Gor, incoming director of the Presidential Personnel Office, suggested Pirro could join the administration. The judge waved off the thought.

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube boss Neal Mohan were also at Ned’s Club.

RFK Jr. made an appearance at a joint X, Uber and The Free Press party at the Riggs Hotel, where several of his seven children—including his model and fashion designer daughter Kyra Kennedy—were separated from the rest of the guests (including her sister Kick) by a couple of guards. Earlier, the health pick was spotted working out at the Life Time gym in Arlington. He also popped into Ned’s Club for a Sunday afternoon party thrown by the All-In podcasters.

Rehabilitation wasn’t restricted to the money men. Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, not so fresh from her calamitous 50 days in office, was also in D.C. working on “fomenting a revolution” in her homeland.

Another Brit, Fox News contributor Steve Hilton, was in town to raise funds for his run for the California governor’s job and interest in his new book, Califailure. Fox News’s Bret Baier and Fox’s in-house Democrats Harold Ford Jr. and Jessica Tarlov were also doing the rounds.

MMA fighter Conor McGregor walked through with his entourage. He’s another with a tricky history with the law—including an accusation of rape —but perhaps looking for a makeover. Musk thought it wasn’t a bad idea for him to run for president of his native Ireland.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Mehmet Oz and Daphne Oz attend Inauguration Eve hosted by Uber, X and The Free Press at Cafe Riggs on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press) / Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Mehmet Oz and Daphne Oz attend Inauguration Eve hosted by Uber, X and The Free Press at Cafe Riggs on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press) / Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, Conor McGregor, and Bari Weiss, The Free Press Founder, attend Inauguration Eve hosted by Uber, X and The Free Press at Cafe Riggs on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press) / Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, Conor McGregor, and Bari Weiss, The Free Press Founder, attend Inauguration Eve hosted by Uber, X and The Free Press at Cafe Riggs on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press) / Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The

Dr Mehmet Oz and Peter Thiel were also holding court. Ted Cruz passed through just after country singer Dierks Bentley rounded off his set with John Denver’s Take Me Home Country Roads. Google co-founder Sergey Brin also made an appearance.

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Musk’s brother Kimble, dashing in a cowboy hat, made it to his brother’s company’s bash, as did CEO Linda Yaccarino but Elon never made it across from the candlelight dinner to the disappointment of his expectant guests.

CNN’s MAGA Warrior Is Keen To Reach Across Aisle… to ABC

Enquiring minds may wonder what CNN contributor Scott Jennings was discussing at the ABC News brunch at the Washington Hotel.

He was spotted lingering longer than the network’s own Jon Karl at the event. ABC, of course, has had a rocky relationship with Trump. It paid $15 million to settle his lawsuit after George Stephanopoulos wrongly said on air that Trump had been adjudicated to have committed rape.

And Some Bonus Spotteds...

Betsy DeVos, education secretary in the first Trump admin, was over at The Jefferson for a meeting in its bar with her brother, the Blackwater founder Erik Prince at the same time as a power gathering upstairs hosted by incoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Also at the hotel: TikTok bidders Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary working everyone they could to push their takeover plan.

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One subject on the lips of every TV executive everywhere was the chaos caused by the decision to switch Trump’s swearing in from the steps of the Capitol to the 600-seat Rotunda. Network execs were left waiting until the eleventh hour to learn the logistics. “Nightmare” was one of the more polite words.

Spotted at Politico’s brunch at the Hay-Adams: Ohio’s not-very-MAGA governor Mike DeWine with an entourage almost entirely made up of younger DeWines. And part-time Michael Jackson impersonator and full-time New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.

For the Trump fans, old and new, the parties offered the opportunity to celebrate. Snoop Dogg had a song for the rest at Friday night’s Crypto Ball, where he performed Bob Marley’s Everything’s Gonna Be All Right.

Who Did This Seating Plan Exactly?

Arrangements for the rapidly reorganized swearing in ceremony created one eyebrow-raising combination: Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, seated beside TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. The app is still functioning solely because Trump indicated that he would not enforce the bipartisan sell-or-shutdown legislation passed because of the threat lawmakers agreed TikTok poses to American national security.

End of an era? This was the scene just outside Ned's Club. / The Swamp/Daily Beast
End of an era? This was the scene just outside Ned's Club. / The Swamp/Daily Beast

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The Swamp is written by David Gardner, Mary Ann Akers and Juliegrace Brufke.