Leon Black

Leon Black
Born	1951
Nationality	United States
Ethnicity	Jewish
Education	Dartmouth College Harvard Business School
Occupation	Founder of Apollo Management
Employer	Apollo Management, formerly Drexel Burnham Lambert
Net worth	US$4.3 billion (March 2013)[1]
Spouse(s)	Debra Ressler
Children	four
Parents	Shirley Lubell Eli M. Black

Leon David Black (born 1951) is an American businessman. He specializes in leveraged buyouts and private equity. He founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 1990.

Early life and education

Black is a son of Eli M. Black (1921–1975), a prominent Jewish businessman who owned the United Brands Company who emigrated from Poland. His mother, Shirley Lubell, was an artist.^[2] In 1975, his father committed suicide by jumping from the 44th floor of the Pan Am Building in New York City. It was later made public that federal regulators were investigating allegations of bribery of Honduran government officials by United Brands.^[2][3]

Black received a BA in Philosophy and History from Dartmouth College in 1973, and served on the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College from 2002 to 2011. He received an MBA from Harvard University in 1975.^[2]

Career

From 1977 to 1990 Leon Black was employed by investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he served as managing director, head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, and co-head of the Corporate Finance Department.^[4] In 1990, he co-founded, on the heels of the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert, the private equity firm Apollo Global Management.^[5] Notable founders included: John Hannan, Drexel's former co-director of international finance; Craig Cogut, a lawyer who worked with Drexel's high-yield division in Los Angeles; and Arthur Bilger, the former head of the Drexel's corporate finance department; Antony Ressler, who worked as a senior vice president in Drexel's high yield department with responsibility for the new issue/syndicate desk; and Marc Rowan, Josh Harris and Michael Gross, who all worked under Black in the mergers and acquisitions department.^[6][7][8]

Personal life

Black is married to Debra Ressler,^[9] a Broadway producer and sister of Apollo Global Management co-founder Antony Ressler.^[10] They have four children.^[11] Black's wife is a melanoma survivor. In 2007, the couple donated $25 million to form the new Melanoma Research Alliance. They have committed to donating another $15 million over the next three years.^[12]

Art Collection

Two months after the May 2012 anonymous purchase of one of four versions of Edvard Munch's The Scream, The Wall Street Journal reported that Black had been the one who had paid $119.9 million for the pastel, the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction.^[13] In September 2012, The Museum of Modern Art announced the painting would go on view for a six-month period starting in October.^[14]

In June 2013 it was revealed that Leon Black had purchased Head of a Young Apostle, an 11-inch wide work by Raphael for £29 million after a four-party bidding war.^[15]

See also

• History of private equity and venture capital

References

Specific citations:

Other references:

External links

• Profile at Forbes.com

v t e Private equity and venture capital investors Investment strategy Buyout Venture Growth Mezzanine Secondaries History History of private equity and venture capital Early history of private equity Private equity in the 1980s Private equity in the 1990s Private equity in the 2000s Investor types Private equity investors Venture capitalists Corporate raiders