Leon Black gets big loans against US$1.1b Apollo stock

[LONDON] Leon Black obtained loans against US$1.1 billion of his Apollo Global Management stock, enabling the billionaire to ramp up his personal investments outside of the private equity firm he founded and then stepped down from last year.

Black pledged 16.7 million shares of New York-based Apollo, according to regulatory filings this week, meaning he can borrow without having to sell his stock. The move, a common tactic among billionaires, means he won't reduce his stake in the company or face tax payments on a sale.

A spokesman for Black declined to comment on the filings.

Black, 70, has never sold a share in the alternative asset manager since it went public in 2011 and maintains a stake worth about US$5.6 billion.

Over the years he has received billions of dollars in dividends that he's reinvested through his family office Elysium Management, which is run by Bradley Wechsler.

Apollo shares closed at US$63.48 Friday (Mar 4) in New York, up about 28 per cent over the past year. Analysts are speculating that the company may be included in an upcoming S&P 500 Index shakeup.

In addition to his Apollo holdings, Black has built a world class art collection, including Edvard Munch's "The Scream", and amassed luxury properties in New York and London. His overall fortune is US$11.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Black retired as Apollo's chief executive officer (CEO) last year after 3 decades atop one of the world's most powerful investment firms. It came after a tumultuous period that included a report produced by law firm Dechert that revealed he had paid the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein US$158 million for tax advice.

Since then he has accused Apollo co-founder Josh Harris of organising a coup to overthrow him and become the firm's CEO.

That startling accusation came amid a bitter legal fight involving Black and Guzel Ganieva, a former Russian model who has accused him of rape. Black has accused Ganieva of extortion and denied the allegation that he sexually assaulted her, instead characterising their relationship as a consensual affair.

Harris, who has also left Apollo, has denied Black's allegation. In a legal filing Friday, attorneys for Harris said that Black's legal actions against his former colleague reflect a "badly misguided effort to blame Josh Harris for problems that are of Black's own making". BLOOMBERG