Leon Black Biography

Leon David Black (born 1951) is an American businessman. He specializes with a focus on 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. 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.

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.

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. In 1990, he co-founded, on the heels of the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert, the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. 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.

Personal life

Black is married to Debra Ressler, a Broadway producer and sister of Apollo Global Management co-founder Antony Ressler. They have four children. 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.

The Scream

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. In September 2012, The Museum of Modern Art announced the painting would go on view for a six-month period starting in October.

See also

• History of private equity and venture capital