The alternative investment firm Apollo Global announced its third quarter results on Thursday.
According to the company, assets under management increased by 102 billion dollars.
CEO Leon Black spoke about his former relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The global alternative investment management firm Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE: APO) announced third quarter results on Thursday morning and CEO Leon Black publicly clarified his relationship with late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Third Quarter Results
Apollo, a publicly traded company, said its total assets under management have increased by $102 billion to $433 billion since the end of 2019. The growth is attributed to a combination of organic growth from insurance clients, new capital raising for existing strategies, meaningful transactions and the introduction of new initiatives.
Dry powder, i.e., capital committed but unallocated, was $45.8 billion at the end of the quarter. Dry powder, which has future potential for management fees, accounted for $21.9 billion of this total.
“In a year marred by market turbulence, our deep talent bank has provided stability and strength in our globally integrated platform,” Apollo co-founder Josh Harris said in the earnings report.
Schwarz: No ‘misconduct
Epstein, the mysterious financier who was indicted in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking in underage girls, previously had a working relationship with Apollo’s Black. The New York Times reported that the two had known each other for decades, and Black’s claims of a “limited relationship” were “deeper than Mr. Black would have us believe,” the Times reported.
On Thursday, during the planned profits conference, the CEO spoke publicly about his former relationship with Epstein. He admitted that he was not eager to talk publicly about personal matters, but the relationship “now affects Apollo” and “causes deep pain to my family,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
Black reiterated that from 2012 to 2017, he had remitted millions of dollars annually to Epstein for “estate planning, taxes, art company structuring and philanthropic advice. But during their decades-long relationship, “there has never been an accusation from anyone,” the WSJ quoted the CEO as saying.
Any suggestion or allegation of blackmail or any other connection to Epstein’s “reprehensible behavior is categorically untrue. The Times report contained no detailed evidence to suggest otherwise. Nonetheless, according to the WSJ, media attention is sufficient for investors in the Apollo public pension fund and others to express their concern.
Terrible mistake’.
Black admitted that he made a “terrible mistake” when he did business with Epstein, even though, according to WSJ, he had pleaded guilty in 2007 to a federal agreement not to prosecute. Black, like other people he respected, thought it wise to give Epstein a “second chance.
“I wish I could go back in time and change that decision, but I can’t,” he also said.
To move forward, Apollo commissioned the law firm Dechert LLP to conduct its own independent review of Black’s relationship with Epstein, at Black’s request, according to the WSJ. Some of the firm’s investors may be waiting for a report before committing new capital, but the firm has already raised $18.4 billion from third parties in 2020, already within its typical annual range of $15 to $20 billion.
