Leonard Blavatnik

Leonard Blavatnik (born Leonid Valentinovich Blavatnik) is a Soviet-born British-American businessman and philanthropist who holds British, American and Greek citizenship. He is the founder and chairman of Access Industries, the privately held holding company he established in 1986, whose interests span natural resources, petrochemicals, entertainment and telecommunications; he owns most of Warner Music Group. Forbes estimated his net worth at $26.5 billion in April 2025, he was knighted in 2017 for philanthropic services, and his Blavatnik Family Foundation has been a major donor to institutions including Tate Modern. His public biography makes no mention of Jeffrey Epstein.

The released files indicate that Blavatnik corresponded with Epstein and was invited to several of his gatherings. Middle East Eye, reporting on documents released by the US Department of Justice, wrote that the email correspondence goes back more than a decade. According to that report, in July 2009 Epstein asked Blavatnik — through an assistant — to help “a friend in Russia” find work; in September 2010 Epstein’s office invited Blavatnik to a private gathering with former Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak, an invitation Middle East Eye says Blavatnik acknowledged receiving and then declined; and in May 2014 his name appeared on a proposed dinner guest list alongside Barak, Lloyd Blankfein and Henry Kissinger. The outlet also reported a September 2015 suggestion that Epstein be asked to obtain Hamilton tickets for Blavatnik, and that in September 2017 Epstein, asked about prospective Russian investors, replied: “adequate? len blavatnik.”

Middle East Eye additionally cited a trip itinerary that listed a “Harvey Weinstein and Len Blavatnik lunch on boat,” noting that it is unclear whether that lunch took place or who attended. The report did not include any response or statement from Blavatnik or Access Industries to the article, and the documents themselves do not allege wrongdoing on his part.

Is Leonard Blavatnik in the Epstein files?

Yes. Leonard Blavatnik is named among those who appear in the released files, and Middle East Eye, reviewing documents released by the US Department of Justice, reported correspondence between Epstein and Blavatnik spanning more than a decade, including invitations to gatherings that he is described as having declined. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. People appear in these documents in many contexts — correspondence, invitations, scheduling, contact books or passing references — and the reporting reviewed here records contact and invitations rather than any allegation against Blavatnik. See the sources above for the documented context.

Documents

Primary-source records that reference Leonard Blavatnik. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; the reporting records contact and invitations rather than any allegation against Blavatnik.

• DOJ Epstein Files (Epstein Files Transparency Act release) — The Justice Department’s release of investigative records includes email correspondence referencing Blavatnik over more than a decade, including gathering invitations he is reported to have declined, as detailed by Middle East Eye.