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Leon Botstein, the president of Bard College, personally received a gift of $150,000 in 2016 from Jeffrey Epstein, the late, disgraced billionaire convicted in 2008 of sexually abusing children.
The New York Times reported that an Epstein foundation, Gratitude America, gave Botstein the funds. He said he donated the funds to Bard, as part of a $1 million gift the same year.
“I didn’t benefit personally at all,” said Botstein.
Botstein previously said Epstein’s only gifts to Bard were a $75,000 gift and 66 laptops.
On Wednesday, the Times reported, “Botstein said that he did not disclose the money from the foundation during a previous interview with The Times earlier this month because he was not aware of it. He said ‘the contract was signed by someone else’ so Mr. Epstein’s name did not appear on his records. He said he didn’t remember the 2016 payments until he looked into the matter after being asked by The Wall Street Journal.”