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Apollo Global Management

Private Equity Firm
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Founded
1990-01-01 in New York, USA
Headquarters
9 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019, USA

Apollo Global Management, Inc. is one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, headquartered in New York City and operating across credit, private equity, real assets, and retirement services. Founded in 1990 by Leon Black, Josh Harris, and Marc Rowan—former bankers at the defunct Drexel Burnham Lambert—Apollo has grown to manage approximately $840 billion in assets as of 2025. The firm provides flexible capital solutions to corporations, institutions, and individuals, with a focus on generating excess returns along the full risk-reward spectrum from investment-grade credit to private equity. Through its wholly owned retirement services subsidiary, Athene, Apollo offers a suite of retirement savings products and acts as a solutions provider for institutions. The company’s integrated platform spans 16 origination businesses in private credit, a leading private equity franchise, and global real estate and infrastructure investments. Apollo is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker APO and employs approximately 5,700 staff worldwide. The firm is led by co-founder Marc Rowan as CEO and Chair, with a senior management team that includes President Jim Zelter and COO Byron Vielehr. Apollo is known for its patient, creative, and knowledge-driven approach to investing, aligning the interests of clients, portfolio companies, employees, and communities to achieve long-term, sustainable outcomes.

Detailed Review

Company History

Apollo Global Management was founded in 1990 by Leon Black, Josh Harris, and Marc Rowan, all former senior investment bankers at Drexel Burnham Lambert, the high-yield bond powerhouse that collapsed that same year. The firm initially focused on distressed debt and private equity, building a reputation for opportunistic investing and operational turnaround expertise. Over three decades, Apollo expanded into a multi-strategy asset manager with capabilities spanning credit, private equity, real assets, and retirement solutions.

Business Model and Scale

As of 2025, Apollo manages roughly $840 billion in assets under management, with $392 billion allocated to credit strategies, making it one of the largest private credit managers globally. The firm’s asset management business provides institutional and individual clients with access to alternative investments across liquidity profiles, from liquid credit to long-dated private equity. Its retirement services arm, Athene (acquired through a merger in 2022), specializes in fixed-indexed annuities, fixed-rate annuities, and funding agreements for institutions, and holds strong financial strength ratings (A+ from AM Best, S&P, and Fitch as of August 2025).

A key differentiator is Apollo’s origination ecosystem: it operates 16 standalone platforms dedicated to high-quality private credit origination across aviation, equipment finance, trade finance, asset-backed lending, and more. In 2025, together with its platforms, Apollo originated approximately $309 billion in assets, with a focus on private investment-grade credit. The firm’s private equity business invests across sectors including industrials, technology, healthcare, and consumer, while its real assets platform covers real estate, infrastructure, and natural resources.

Recent Developments

Recent significant transactions include the 2025 acquisitions of Emerald and Questex to create a scaled B2B experiential events and media platform; a €3.2 billion equity partnership with RWE for renewable energy funding; and a $3 billion investment partnership with Capital Power for North American energy transition assets. Apollo also completed a substantial first close of the Securitized Products Group acquisition from Credit Suisse in early 2023, now operating under ATLAS SP Securities.

Leadership Transition

Apollo’s leadership underwent a transition in 2021 when co-founder Leon Black stepped down as CEO after a review of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein; Marc Rowan succeeded him as CEO and Chair. In 2023, Jim Zelter was named President of Apollo Global Management, and Scott Kleinman became Co-President of Apollo Asset Management (alongside John Zito, who was elevated to Co-President of Apollo Asset Management). Byron Vielehr joined in 2022 as COO, bringing technology and financial services expertise from Fiserv and Dun & Bradstreet.

Key Products

  • ATLAS SP Securities

    Broker-dealer subsidiary formed from the Credit Suisse Securitized Products Group acquisition; provides securities services in structured finance.

  • Apollo Credit

    One of the world’s largest private credit platforms; invests across investment-grade, non-investment-grade, and structured credit. Includes origination platforms in aviation, equipment, trade finance, and asset-backed lending.

  • Apollo Private Equity

    Invests in control and significant minority positions across industries; known for operational value creation through its 'Apollo Operating' approach.

  • Athene Retirement Services

    Wholly owned subsidiary providing fixed-indexed and fixed-rate annuities, retirement savings products, and institutional funding agreements. Holds strong financial strength ratings (A+ from multiple agencies).

  • Apollo Real Assets

    Invests in real estate, infrastructure, and natural resources globally; includes Apollo Real Estate and Apollo Infrastructure.

  • Apollo Academy

    Free, daily data-driven economic research platform led by Chief Economist Torsten Slok; provides analysis on US economy, inflation, and capital markets.

  • Origination Ecosystem

    Network of 16 standalone platform companies that originate private credit deals; collectively originated ~$309 billion in 2025.

Offices & Headcount

5700 employees (approx.)

Key Persons

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