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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black has decided to retire following revelations that he had financial ties to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Law firm Dechert conducted an independent internal review and found that Black was not involved in any of Epstein's criminal activities.

According to a New York Times account, the Dechert report found that Black's $158 million payments to Epstein were for tax and estate planning advice that proved to be beneficial to Black's family. It is believed that Black saved some $2 billion in tax payments as a result of the advice.

However, board members and investors in Apollo found Black's ties to Epstein to be in poor taste and damaging to Apollo's reputation after the charges against Epstein were revealed.

Black told the board that he would retire as CEO in July on his 70th birthday. He will remain chairman. Marc Rowan, Apollo's third founder, will become CEO.

Black's decision to retire could smooth things over with many of Apollo's institutional investors. Several public pension plans have indicated that they would pause any addition investments in Apollo's vehicles until the findings of the report were provided. Apollo's $300+ billion credit business includes investments from many public pensions and some sovereign wealth funds.......................

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