Overview
Apollo Global Management issued a letter to clients and partners publicly on Wednesday asserting that Marc Rowan, the firm's chief executive officer, had neither a business nor a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The communication was released as fresh Epstein-related documents have continued to surface and prompt scrutiny across corporations.
Firm response and specifics
In the letter, Apollo stated explicitly: "Neither Marc Rowan nor anyone else at Apollo (excluding Leon Black) had either a business or personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein." The firm underscored that materials from the recent document release do not accuse Apollo or its executives of any involvement with or knowledge of Epstein's illegal activities.
The most recent disclosures include correspondence indicating communication between Rowan's office and Epstein's office that discussed at least five scheduled meetings between the two offices. Apollo reiterated its position while acknowledging the existence of those records.
Stakeholder reaction
The company's statement comes after two teachers' unions that hold financial stakes in Apollo publicly called for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to open an investigation. Those unions allege that Apollo made "misleading" statements to investors and want regulatory scrutiny into the disclosures and representations the firm provided to its shareholders.
Context within the firm
Leon Black, a co-founder of Apollo, left the company in early 2021 following corporate governance changes that were implemented after a review of his connections to Epstein. Rowan became CEO after Black's departure.
A previously released review by law firm Dechert LLP cleared Black of wrongdoing related to those matters. That review said Black attempted to introduce Epstein to Apollo co-founders Rowan and Josh Harris, but that no employee of the company other than Black "ever seriously considered hiring Epstein."
What remains unsettled
Apollo's public letter and the Dechert review seek to delineate the boundaries of company involvement, but newly released documents and calls for an SEC inquiry mean questions remain in the public domain. The firm is publicly denying a relationship between its current CEO and Epstein and is pointing to prior investigative findings that limit company exposure to the matters under scrutiny.