Leon Black

Leon Black studied history at Dartmouth College and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He joined Drexel Burnham Lambert where he became head of the mergers and acquisitions department, working closely with Michael Milken's high-yield bond operation. When Drexel collapsed in 1990, Black co-founded Apollo Global Management with Josh Harris and Marc Rowan, initially focusing on distressed debt investing — buying the bonds and loans of troubled companies at significant discounts to their face value, with the goal of converting that debt into equity through restructuring. Apollo pioneered a credit-focused approach to private equity that combined distressed debt investment with traditional leveraged buyout capabilities. Over the following three decades Apollo expanded into private equity, credit, real assets, and infrastructure, growing to manage over $500 billion in assets and becoming one of the world's largest alternative asset managers. Notable Apollo investments include ADT, LyondellBasell, Caesars Entertainment, and Cox Media Group. Apollo went public in 2011. Black stepped down as CEO in 2021 amid controversy unrelated to Apollo's business operations. Apollo has continued to grow aggressively under the leadership of Marc Rowan, acquiring Athene (an annuity insurer) and expanding into retirement savings products.