Leon Black
Source of wealth: Private equity
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Leon Black's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Leon Black could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 6.2 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Leon Black could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 2.7 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Leon Black could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 4.1 years.
And yes, we can also compare it with a rich country
But they couldn't just cover the cost of a poor country; Luxembourg is considered the country with the highest per capita investment in education in the world, and Leon Black could pay for it entirely for 5.5 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Leon Black could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 23.2 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Leon Black with Israel, the country that invests the most per capita in research in the world, they could cover the total cost of the system for 0.5 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Leon Black's fortune is equivalent to 94 tons of gold. It's hard to process, since we don't usually keep a handful of gold bars in our piggy banks.
A standard gold ring usually weighs between 4 and 7 grams. Let's say this one weighs 5 grams. It's usually 18 karats.
Based on today's gold price (excluding the jeweler's commission, shipping, or anything else), that ring would be worth $546.86.
Leon Black could buy 25,198,940 gold rings. That's a lot of fingers and way too many gifts!!
And if you're struggling to visualize that many rings, it would take 4 trucks to transport them. Although Leon Black will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Leon Black is the cofounder of private equity behemoth Apollo Global Management, which manages $785 billion in assets.
Black stepped down as Apollo's CEO and chairman in 2021 after a board investigation found that he paid $158 million in fees to Jeffrey Epstein. A further investigation upped the sum to $170 million.
Black spent much of his early career at investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he eventually headed the mergers and acquisitions group.
After Drexel filed for bankruptcy in 1990, Black founded Apollo with colleagues Joshua Harris and Marc Rowan, both of whom are billionaires.
Apollo went public in 2011; Black still owns roughly 7% of the company's shares.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison