LUCY NICHOLSON/Reuters
- Leon Black is stepping down as CEO and chairman at Apollo Global Management with immediate effect.
- Apollo said in January that Black would step down as CEO on or before July 31, but would remain chairman.
- It follows an investigation into Black's financial ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Leon Black, CEO and chairman of Apollo Global Management, is stepping down with immediate effect, the company announced Monday.
Black's departure from the investment firm comes sooner than expected. At the end of January, Apollo said Black would step down following an independent investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which showed he paid $158 million to the disgraced financier between 2012 to 2017.
Apollo said in January that Black, 69, would step down as CEO on or before July 31, but that he would remain chairman of the company.
Black is now handing over the role of chairman to Jay Clayton, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who recently became an independent director at the company. Co-founder Marc Rowan will take over as CEO with immediate effect.
In a statement, Black said that now was "the ideal moment to step back and focus on my family, my wife Debra's and my health issues, and my many other interests."
"Over the past 30-plus years, my co-founders, Marc, Josh Harris and I, have worked extremely hard to make Apollo a franchise built for enduring success. I believe strongly that Apollo's best days lie ahead," he said.
Review into Black's ties to Epstein
The money that Black paid to Esptein was for a "variety of issues related to trust and estate planning, tax, philanthropy, and the operation of the Family Office," the January review by law firm Dechert found.
The review said neither Black or Apollo were involved in any of Epstein's criminal activity. There was also "no evidence that Epstein ever introduced Black, or offered to introduce Black, to any underage woman," it said.
Epstein was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl in 2008, and served 13 months in a state jail.
He was arrested again in July 2019, on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors, and died one month later in federal prison. His death was ruled a suicide.
