27 Facts About Leon Black

Leon David Black was born on July 31,1951 and is an American private equity investor.

Leon Black is the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, which he co-founded in 1990 with Marc Rowan and Josh Harris.

Leon Black's mother, Shirley Lubell was an artist.

Leon Black received an AB in philosophy and history from Dartmouth College in 1973 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975.

Leon Black served on the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College from 2002 to 2011.

In 2012, Leon Black gave US$48 million toward a new visual arts center at Dartmouth College.

Leon Black started out as an accountant at Peat Marwick and with the publisher Boardroom Reports.

Leon Black interviewed at Lehman Brothers but was told he did not have the brains or personality to succeed on Wall Street.

At Drexel, Leon Black was regarded as "junk bond king" Michael Milken's right-hand man.

In 2009, Leon Black contributed $60 million in a settlement with Huntsman Corporation after Apollo was sued for backing out of a merger the previous year.

In 2022, Leon Black included Josh Harris in a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations lawsuit, alleging that he led a group within Apollo attempting to tarnish his reputation after his ties to Epstein were reported.

Leon Black is married to Debra Ressler, a 1976 Barnard College graduate and Broadway producer and sister of Ares Management co-founder Antony Ressler.

In 2019, Leon Black stated that he maintained a "limited relationship" with Jeffrey Epstein.

The New York Times reported that Leon Black had paid Epstein at least $50 million for such services from 2012 to 2017.

Leon Black did not at the time confirm the $50 million sum reported by The New York Times, but did say that he paid Epstein "millions of dollars annually for his work".

In October 2020, Leon Black requested that the Apollo board conduct an independent review of his relationship with Epstein, and it retained the law firm Dechert LLP to do so.

Leon Black has said that he "deeply regrets" his relationship with Epstein.

Leon Black pledged his intention to donate $200 million to women's initiatives.

In 2023, Leon Black paid $62.5 million to the US Virgin Islands to be released from claims related to Epstein.

Leon Black stated that he had engaged in a consensual affair with her.

The law firm that represented Ganieva represented another accuser, Cheri Pierson, who accused Leon Black of raping her in 2002 in Jeffrey Epstein's mansion in New York City.

In 2012, Leon Black acquired Phaidon Press, a fine art books publishing house.

In May 2012, Leon Black purchased one of the four versions of Edvard Munch's The Scream.

Leon Black paid $119.9 million for the pastel, then the highest price ever paid for a work of art.

On December 22,2015, it was reported that Leon Black purchased at auction a complete set of the Daniel Bomberg Babylonian Talmud for $9.3 million.

Pelham Europe, an agent for a member of Qatar's royal family, and Gagosian, who had resold the bust to Leon Black, both claimed ownership.

The settlement included Leon Black getting the sculpture and Widmaier Picasso paying Pelham an undisclosed amount.