BLACK
Leon

• 1. Career

Leon David Black is an American private equity investor. He is the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, which he co-founded in 1990 with Marc Rowan and Josh Harris. Black was the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art from 2018 to 2021.

Career

Black started out as an accountant at Peat Marwick (which later became KPMG) and with the publisher Boardroom Reports. He also interviewed at Lehman Brothers but was told he did not have the brains or personality to succeed on Wall Street.

From 1977 to 1990, Black was employed by investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he rose to managing director and head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, and co-head of the Corporate Finance Department. At Drexel, Black was regarded as "junk bond king" Michael Milken's right-hand man.

In 2009, Black contributed $60 million in a settlement with Huntsman Corporation after Apollo was sued for backing out of a merger the previous year. In 2021, Black stepped down as CEO and chairman after Dechert LLP, which had been retained several months earlier by Apollo to investigate Black's dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, published a report finding that Black had paid $158 million to Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for advice on taxes and estate planning.

In 2022, Black included Josh Harris in a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit, alleging that he led a group within Apollo attempting to tarnish his reputation after his ties to Epstein were reported. Federal judge Paul Engelmayer dismissed the suit for lack of evidence, with an appeals court upholding the decision in 2023.