Leon Black, billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management Inc.,
APO 2.73%
he is stepping down as president of the investment giant in an unexpected move that is the latest in a governance reform initiated by revelations of his ties to financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Apollo said on Monday that co-founder Marc Rowan formally assumed the title of executive director of Black, a transition that the New York company announced in January and said it would take place before July 31, Black’s 70th birthday. Black, who the company had previously said would remain chairman of the board, is ceding that role to former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton, who was named a leading independent director last month.
Mr. Black cited health problems for himself and his wife when announcing the change.
The move is the latest in a series of changes at the company since the completion of an independent review of the ties between Black and Epstein. Analysis by law firm Dechert LLP revealed that Black paid Epstein a total of $ 158 million for tax and estate planning services, much more than was previously known.
The analysis found no evidence that Black was involved in the criminal activities of Epstein, who was indicted in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls and then killed himself in prison.
In a statement on Monday, Black said the company’s first quarter earnings would exceed analysts’ expectations and that fundraising was set to reach the high end of the company’s $ 15 billion to $ 20 billion annual forecast. Apollo.
“So I think this is an ideal time to step back and focus on my family, my health problems and my wife Debra, and my many other interests,” he said.
Debra Black was diagnosed with stage two melanoma more than a decade ago, and the couple donated hundreds of millions of dollars to fund research on the disease through a foundation they established in 2007. She has continued to fight the disease in recent months. , according to a person familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, Black has struggled with his own health problems for the past few weeks, the person said.
Apollo has added several independent directors since the completion of the Dechert review, in addition to Mr. Clayton. On Monday, he added two more, naming Richard Emerson, president of Pendral Capital, and Kerry Murphy Healey, president of the Milken Center for Advance the American Dream, with immediate effect.
The company also announced earlier this month that it would abandon its two-class share structure and switch to a “one share, one vote” regime.
Mr. Rowan, 58 years old and the architect of Apollo’s highly successful insurance strategy, has already moved to put his brand on the company, announcing a merger with Athene Holding Ltd.
earlier this month, which valued insurance affiliate Apollo at $ 11 billion.
Apollo already owns a large share of Athene and the insurer represents a large part of its $ 455 billion in assets under management. The companies stated that the purpose of the deal is to simplify the relationship and better align the interests of the two groups of shareholders.
Write to Miriam Gottfried at [email protected]
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