Vince Gill
$30 million
Leon Black’s net worth is estimated at $13–14 billion, making him one of the wealthiest figures in American private equity. He co-founded Apollo Global Management in 1990 after a decade at Drexel Burnham Lambert, building the firm into one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world. He resigned as CEO in March 2021 following scrutiny over his financial relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — a relationship that has continued to generate legal proceedings as recently as March 2026.
Updated March 2026: According to Forbes, Black ranks No. 251 on the 2026 Forbes World Billionaires list. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index tracks his fortune at approximately $13–14 billion, rooted primarily in his ownership stake in Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), whose assets under management reached $908 billion as of Q3 2025.
Leon David Black was born on July 31, 1951, in New York City. His father, Eli M. Black, was a businessman who emigrated from Poland and served as CEO of United Brands; Eli Black died by suicide in February 1975 by jumping from the 44th floor of the Pan Am Building in New York, an event that occurred during a bribery scandal involving the company’s Honduran banana operations. His mother, Shirley Lubell, was an artist. Black graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1973 with a degree in Philosophy and History, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975.
After Harvard, Black joined Drexel Burnham Lambert, the investment bank that dominated the 1980s leveraged buyout and high-yield debt markets under Michael Milken. Black rose to Managing Director of mergers and acquisitions, playing a central role in some of the decade’s largest transactions. When Drexel collapsed in 1990 following securities fraud investigations, Black and colleagues Josh Harris and Marc Rowan departed to co-found Apollo Global Management.
Apollo specialized in leveraged buyouts, distressed debt, and credit markets. Under Black’s leadership as CEO, the firm went public in 2011 and expanded to manage assets across private equity, credit, and real assets. By Q3 2025, Apollo’s AUM had reached $908 billion, according to the firm’s own filings. Black’s total compensation from Apollo over his tenure reflected the firm’s extraordinary growth: he received distributions of more than $104 million in 2011 alone and $546 million in total compensation in 2013, per company disclosures cited by Bloomberg. His compensation in 2016 was approximately $142 million.
An outside review by law firm Dechert LLP, commissioned by Apollo’s board in late 2020, found that Black had paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017, characterizing the payments as fees for financial and tax advisory services. The review found no evidence of wrongdoing in Black’s business activities but noted Epstein’s role as an advisor was unusual in scale and scope. Black resigned as Apollo CEO in March 2021; current CEO Marc Rowan succeeded him.
Black’s financial relationship with Epstein has generated ongoing legal and reputational consequences. The Dechert review confirmed $158 million in payments from 2012 to 2017. Following his 2021 resignation, Black faced civil allegations from a woman named Guzel Ganieva, who accused him of rape; Black denied the allegations and countersued for defamation. As of March 2026, Black is scheduled to give a deposition in a proposed class-action lawsuit by Epstein victims against Bank of America, per Reuters and Bloomberg Law. Additionally, on March 2, 2026, a shareholder securities class action was filed in the Southern District of New York against Apollo, Black, and CEO Rowan, alleging that defendants misrepresented the firm’s business ties to Epstein, per D&O Diary. Black has maintained that his payments to Epstein were for legitimate advisory services.
Black is married to Debra Ressler Black, a Broadway producer and philanthropist. They have four children, including son Benjamin Black. The family has been prominent in New York philanthropic circles: Black chaired the Museum of Modern Art’s board of trustees from 2018 to 2021 and previously served as a MoMA trustee for decades. The Leon Black Family Foundation donated $25 million to the Melanoma Research Alliance in 2007. Black has also been a major donor to Dartmouth and other educational institutions. He resigned from the MoMA board in 2021 following the Epstein disclosures.
Leon Black’s net worth is estimated at $13–14 billion according to Forbes (No. 251 on the 2026 Billionaires list) and Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. The bulk of his wealth is tied to his approximately 11% ownership stake in Apollo Global Management, supplemented by a private art collection valued at over $1.68 billion per Epstein files reported by Forbes in February 2026.
Black resigned as Apollo’s CEO in March 2021 after an outside review by the law firm Dechert LLP revealed he had paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017 for financial, tax, and estate advisory services. The disclosure, while not finding direct evidence of illegal activity on Black’s part, created significant reputational pressure. He remains the firm’s largest individual shareholder and co-founder, but day-to-day management passed to CEO Marc Rowan.
Black paid Epstein $158 million in fees between 2012 and 2017 for advisory services involving tax optimization, estate planning, and other financial matters, confirmed by the Dechert review commissioned by Apollo’s board. Epstein’s files, reviewed by journalists in 2025–2026, contained detailed records of Black’s net worth, trusts, and art collection. As of March 2026, Black faces a scheduled deposition in an Epstein victims’ class action against Bank of America, per Reuters and Bloomberg Law, as well as an Apollo shareholder securities lawsuit filed March 2, 2026.