Leon Black
Net worth: ~$13.8B (Bloomberg Billionaires Index, 2026 estimate)
Who they are
Leon Black co-founded Apollo Global Management in 1990, originally as a credit-focused investment firm that has grown into one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world. He served as CEO until 2018 and remains a major shareholder and an influential figure at the firm. Apollo manages over $500 billion in assets under management across private equity, credit, and real assets. Black's career began at Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he became a senior partner in the 1980s.
Why they matter
Black is a co-architect of Apollo, which under his successor leadership has become one of the most active sponsors in the industry. His continued involvement and large stake mean he remains a significant voice in how one of the largest PE firms is run and positioned.
The AI angle
Apollo is one of the most active PE firms in AI infrastructure: in June 2026, it and Blackstone finalized a $35 billion financing package to expand AI computing capacity for Anthropic using Broadcom's custom chips. Apollo also runs a large real-estate and data-center platform that is directly exposed to the AI buildout, making it one of the most important AI-adjacent sponsors in the industry.
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