Manager Leon Black – APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT Foundation
For many traders and investors, the bankruptcy procedure of a company, fund or bank is always associated with huge losses. Yes, it is the bankruptcy procedure that triggers a sharp decline in prices for shares or debt obligations held by the company.
However, if key shareholders try to quickly get rid of shares, the largest market sharks, on the contrary, make the maximum purchase of distressed assets,
After all, with proper management, a block of shares bought for almost nothing can bring millions of dollars in profit.
You will get acquainted with the biography of one of these stock market sharks, who became rich from distressed assets, in this article.
Leon Black was born in 1951 in New York into a very wealthy family of a businessman and artist. His father was an immigrant from Poland, while his mother was a Native American.
It is worth noting that my father was the owner of the largest export company, United Brands, which supplied citrus fruits and other products to the USA and European countries.
Education and first tests.
The most interesting thing is that the love of art instilled by his mother, as well as the life of a businessman instilled from his father, played a key role in Black becoming a billionaire. After graduating from school, Leon Black entered Dartmouth College, where he successfully received a bachelor's degree.However, even at a young age he had to experience the bitterness of loss. Unfortunately, his father, under the influence of stress and fear of going to jail, committed suicide by jumping from the 44th floor of a multi-story office center. His father was accused of making many contracts with Honduras based on bribes to the government. However, after the death the case was closed.
After graduating from college, the next step was to get an MBA from Harvard Business School, which would allow him to enter the investment environment on Walt Street.
First steps in the world of business.
The first job did not take long to arrive, because after receiving his diploma, he immediately got a job at Drexel Burnham Lambert bank. It is worth noting that working in a bank was the only place of work before Leon Black became an independent manager.
At Drexel Burnham Lambert, Leon Black took huge strides up the career ladder, starting as a regular consultant and ending up as managing director. However, he maximized his talents in the department that dealt with acquisitions and mergers, as well as the purchase of problematic assets.
Leon Black created an excellent team of specialists, and, despite the fact that in general, things were not going well for the Drexel Burnham Lambert bank, Black and his team were spoken of as a highly qualified specialist in their field.
In 1990, after the collapse of the largest bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, Leon had to say goodbye to his previous place of work. However, together with his team in the mergers and distressed assets department, he created his own company, Apollo Global Management, in the same year.
It is worth noting that Leon Black raised about $400 million for his first project, after which the rapid growth of assets began.
If we talk about family life, then Leon Black had to endure the most serious test in his life, since his beloved wife fell ill with skin cancer, but after grueling treatment and many years of struggle, the cancer finally receded.
This event greatly affected Leon, so they sent 25 million to charity and the fight against this disease.
He then continued to support melanoma research for three years after his first investment and invested an additional $15 million.
Apollo Global Management currently has $2,323 billion under management and Leon Black has a personal earned net worth of $7 billion. Leon Black is also a major art collector.