Now I have enough information to write a comprehensive profile. Let me compile everything:
Brad Wechsler#
Summary
Brad Wechsler is the former chairman of IMAX Corporation and managing partner of Elysium LLC, the family office for billionaire Leon Black. According to public records, Wechsler co-founded IMAX in 1994, served as co-CEO until 2009, and stepped down as chairman in June 2021 after nearly 30 years with the company. In January 2015, he became managing partner of Elysium LLC, which manages the business affairs of Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management.
The archive contains 6,326 emails involving Wechsler spanning from February 2011 to October 2023. The correspondence documents his role managing Black's financial affairs and his extensive involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, who served as a tax and estate planning advisor to Black. Wechsler coordinated Epstein's review of Black's tax returns, facilitated financial reporting between Black's office and Epstein, and communicated regularly with Epstein on matters ranging from business valuations to IRS audits. The relationship between Black and Epstein has been the subject of extensive public scrutiny, with Black eventually paying $158 million to Epstein for financial advice and later settling with the U.S. Virgin Islands for $62.5 million to be released from potential claims arising from Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
Background
Bradley J. Wechsler co-founded IMAX Corporation in 1994 and served as co-chairman and co-CEO alongside Richard Gelfond from May 1996 through April 2009, when he assumed the role of sole chairman. According to Deadline, Wechsler and Gelfond acquired IMAX together in 1994. He stepped down as chairman in June 2021 after nearly 30 years with the company.
In January 2015, Wechsler became managing partner of Elysium LLC, a limited liability company that manages the family office for Leon Black, CEO of Apollo Global Management. According to Puck News, Black brought in Wechsler "soon after he resigned from Apollo" to run Elysium, which "is much more professionally run than it once was." Elysium has invested in companies including Huddle House restaurants and Phaidon Press, an art-book publisher owned by Black.
Wechsler also serves as Vice-Chairman of the board of NYU Hospital and Medical Center, where he chairs its Finance Committee, and is a board member at Apollo Investment Corporation.
Black's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein became a major controversy. According to CNN, Black paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning services between 2012 and 2017, as revealed in a Dechert law firm investigation commissioned by Apollo's board. Black resigned from Apollo Global Management and the Museum of Modern Art in 2021 following these revelations and sexual misconduct allegations. In July 2023, Black settled with the U.S. Virgin Islands for $62.5 million to be released from potential claims arising from Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
Correspondence with Epstein
Wechsler's correspondence with Epstein spans from February 2011 to October 2023 and reflects a working relationship centered on the financial management of Leon Black's business affairs. The emails document Wechsler's role as the intermediary between Black's family office and Epstein, who provided tax and estate planning advice.
The correspondence intensified after Wechsler joined Elysium in early 2015. In March 2015, Wechsler sent Epstein detailed monthly cash flow projections for "a few Black Family entities," describing them as iterative works-in-progress that would eventually consolidate 6 or 7 entities. Epstein responded critically, dismissing the explanation as "corporate speak" and demanding clarity on the purpose of the projections.
A recurring theme in the correspondence is Epstein's review of Black's tax returns. In October 2018, Elysium tax director Joseph Vinciguerra sent Epstein a draft of Black's 2017 federal income tax return, noting it was "over 1,700 pages." Wechsler was copied on the exchange, in which Epstein criticized various aspects of the return, writing that "all of these issues were known for months." Vinciguerra defended the work, noting that "all K-1s were received timely" and explaining various technical tax issues.
Wechsler coordinated the resolution of tax matters with Epstein's input. In May 2017, when the IRS was auditing Black's returns, Wechsler emailed Epstein, Black, and others confirming that an adjustment payment would "finish" the audit. Epstein replied: "WE are DONE!! just pay the adjustment. and it finishes. I confirmed it".
The emails document Wechsler providing Epstein with detailed financial information about Black's business entities, particularly Phaidon Press (publishing), Artspace (art sales), and Regan Arts. In May 2017, Epstein asked about the potential "total loss" if all three entities were closed. Wechsler responded with detailed figures: Phaidon basis $33 million, Artspace $17 million, Regan Arts $5.1 million, for a total of $41.8 million, plus $25.2 million in debt and additional obligations including a $3 million obligation to Hachette.
Wechsler also coordinated logistical matters between Black and Epstein. In March 2015, he noted to Epstein that he had spoken with Richard Joslin about tax processes and personnel matters, writing: "Will you let me know right before or after you speak to rich abt 'personnel' matters, if and when you do. Pls be mindful of my relationship with rich since we like each other and believe/expect to work with each other."
However, the correspondence also reveals significant tension. In a lengthy November 2016 email from Epstein to Black that was forwarded through the archive, Epstein criticized Wechsler's competence extensively, writing: "Brad wechsler was never up to the task. sorry, I realize I have been saying the very same thing for a long time. he was a not a step up from Eileen but a step sideways." Epstein described Wechsler as someone who "struts his stupidity whenever he gets a chance" and stated: "It would be much preferable if Wechsler was not his replacement" for the trustee role.
In a separate January 2016 email to Black that was later printed for attorney Brad Karp, Epstein complained about financial compensation and wrote: "When you interviewed Brad two years ago you asked that i not tell him what a disaster lay before him." Epstein went on to criticize the office's management, claiming items remained unresolved and that Wechsler "knows little of finance, is bullshitted over by almost everyone in the office."
Despite these tensions, the working relationship continued. In 2018, Wechsler inquired whether IMAX was ready to build a home theater on Epstein's island, to which Wechsler replied "I'll find out". In September 2017, after Hurricane Irma devastated the Virgin Islands, Wechsler wrote to Epstein: "Yeah....crazy, horrible and sad...Years of rebuilding."
Connections
Wechsler's primary connection in Epstein's network was Leon Black, with whom he shared 245 emails in the archive. As managing partner of Black's family office Elysium LLC, Wechsler was regularly copied on correspondence between Epstein and Black regarding tax matters, IRS audits, and business valuations.
Wechsler worked closely with several other figures in Black's financial operations who also corresponded with Epstein:
Richard Joslin, with whom Wechsler shared 1,287 emails, served as a tax professional at Elysium. In September 2015, Epstein's assistant requested a meeting with "Brad Wechsler & Rich Joslin to discuss Use Tax Refund." Joslin frequently sent Wechsler and Epstein technical tax memoranda and coordinated the preparation of Black's returns.
Barry J. Cohen, with 294 shared emails, was regularly copied on tax-related correspondence. In May 2017, Cohen was included on emails between Wechsler, Epstein, Black, and tax preparer Thomas Turrin regarding BRH tax adjustments.
Joe Avantario, with 277 shared emails, assisted with business entity analysis. In May 2017, Wechsler directed Avantario to prepare charts showing revenue, net income and operating cash flow for Black's publishing entities "going back to inception."
Melanie Spinella, Epstein's assistant, shared 810 emails with Wechsler and frequently forwarded messages between Wechsler and Epstein.
Alan S. Halperin, a partner at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison who shared 119 emails, worked on estate planning matters. In November 2015, Halperin wrote to Epstein: "Jeffrey, I will post Brad and Ada about our calls."
Rich Kahn, with 254 shared emails, handled donations and philanthropic matters. In January 2019, Kahn contacted Wechsler about unused funds donated by Black to Lawrence Krauss's Origins Project at Arizona State University, noting that "Jeffrey also had unused funds for his donations and sent his balance to the MIT Media Lab."
Wechsler also appears on a Deutsche Bank list for an August 2016 invitation to the Frieze London art fair preview, where both he and Epstein were among the clients approved for the 11:00am VIP preview.
Document References
Wechsler appears in multiple documents in the archive, primarily in the context of his role managing Black's financial affairs. In March 2015, he sent Epstein a memorandum discussing tax processes and noting: "Assume you will speak to rich abt tax process. I told him things shld go to you same time as torn. Obviously, adjust as u see fit." He also noted personnel issues: "I told rich he will have to fight for samantha (his jr hire)."
In June 2015, Richard Joslin sent a detailed email to Epstein (copying Wechsler and Spinella) responding to questions about FBAR filings, Isle of Man tax structures, trading accounts, and plane depreciation schedules. The document shows the technical complexity of Black's financial affairs and Epstein's involvement in reviewing them.
Multiple documents contain messages from Lesley Groff, Epstein's assistant, to Epstein with simple instructions: "Please call Brad Wechsler" (September 2015, August 2015, November 2015, October 2015, and other dates). These frequent call requests suggest regular telephone communication beyond the documented email correspondence.
In January 2019, Kahn sent Wechsler a letter regarding unused donations to Lawrence Krauss's Origins Project, noting: "It appears that all of the funds donated by Leon and the Leon Black Family Foundation to The Origins Project were not used. I believe the balance that remains is approximately 607,000. Jeffrey also had unused funds for his donations and sent his balance to the MIT Media Lab."
November 2016 emails document Epstein's extensive criticism of Wechsler's management of Black's affairs, including complaints about lack of progress on various financial restructuring projects and characterizing Wechsler as incompetent. A January 2016 message to Black later provided to attorney Brad Karp contains similar complaints about Wechsler, alongside Epstein's broader grievances about compensation for his advisory services.
Visits to Epstein Properties
The archive does not document any in-person visits by Wechsler to Epstein's properties. The correspondence was conducted primarily via email and telephone, with Epstein's assistants frequently requesting that Epstein "call Brad Wechsler" in messages from 2015 through 2017.
The single reference to Epstein's island came in August 2018, when Epstein inquired whether "imax ready to build a home theatre on my island". Wechsler replied that he would "find out", suggesting this was a business inquiry about IMAX's home theater technology rather than a social visit. No evidence of travel to the island appears in the archive.
In May 2017, Wechsler responded to an invitation from Epstein to attend "ai weapons un of ariz october" (apparently referring to an artificial intelligence event at the University of Arizona), writing: "If you recommend it and it doesn't conflict w/a trip i have to israel, good chance. When is it?". There is no indication whether this visit occurred.