Billionaire sports owner Harris builds new US$5b investment firm

JOSH Harris, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, is building out his firm to focus on private equity, credit and insurance. 

Harris’ firm, known as 26North Partners, will launch with US$5 billion in assets, according to a statement. The investing titan hired Mark Weinberg, who led US private equity at Brookfield Asset Management, to run buyouts and Brendan McGovern, former head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s private credit group, to lead the lending platform. 

26North also formed a joint venture with Braven Management, led by former BlackRock executive William Abecassis, to focus on transformational technology.

“I am thrilled to return to my roots as an investor and entrepreneur with the launch of 26North and excited to reconnect with the many partners I’ve worked with over the last 30 years,” Harris said in the statement. “Investment performance starts with extraordinary people, and I feel grateful to have attracted such outstanding talent.”

Harris, who helped found Apollo in 1990 with Leon Black and Marc Rowan, has been building a team and planning to start a firm for about a year. He announced in May 2021 he would be relinquishing his day-to-day responsibilities at Apollo. 

Harris is worth an estimated US$7.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His family office, HRS Management, oversees his personal fortune, which includes stakes in the National Basketball Association’s Philadelphia 76ers and the National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils. BLOOMBERG