Marc Rowan Bio: The Mysterious Man Behind Apollo Global

Marc Rowan is a private individual who came under the public eye very recently, owing to his dramatic return to work for Apollo Global as its CEO after going on a sabbatical. The sabbatical was supposed to last for longer than it did. It ended when he had to swoop in to take charge of the company when Apollo Global Management’s former CEO was forced to step down after his ties to Jeffery Epstein were exposed. 

He is known to be the calmer of the three business partners who started the company together. Both Leon Black and Joshua Harris are known for being flashy with their lifestyles and investments alike. Under his leadership, Apollo Global Management has been able to successfully navigate the pandemic and has even continued to grow.

Let’s take a look at how he has gotten to where he is today in this complete Marc Rowan bio.

Marc Rowan Quick Facts

Birth Date August 19, 1962 
Birth Place New York 
Nick Name  The Professor
Nationality  American 
Siblings  One sister 
Children  Four 
Partner/Spouse  Married to Carolyn Rowan
Profession  Investment Banker, Businessman, CEO at Apollo Global Management 
Salary  $293,203 as a senior manager at Apollo Global Management – his new salary as CEO is still unknown
Net Worth  $4.75 Billion 
Social Media  Twitter 
Companies Associated With  Apollo Global Management, Drexel Burnham 
Last Updated 5/31/2022

Marc Rowan Key Facts Summary 

  • The first company he worked for (Drexel Burnham Lambert) went bankrupt in 1990, but it is also where he met the co-creators of Apollo Global Management, Leon Black and Joshua Harris.
  • Apollo Global Management’s goal for 2026 is to grow its assets to 1 trillion – it is already halfway there as of 2022.
  • Ever since he became CEO of Apollo Global Management, Marc Rowan no longer deals with investments and instead devotes his time to sort out the company’s internal affairs.
  • According to Rowan, 2020 and 2021 were both great years for Apollo Global Management’s growth.
  • He is very private about his personal life – there is barely any information about his family and upbringing on the internet today.

Marc Rowan Birthplace and Early Life

There isn’t much known about Marc’s early life beyond the basic details, mainly because Marc has largely avoided the public eye until recently when he stepped up as the CEO of Apollo Global Management, a company he co-created with two other colleagues back in 1990. 

Marc Rowan was born in New York City on August 19, 1962. His mother is a pianist and teacher named Barbara, and he graduated summa cum laude from Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s in Business Administration. 

See also: Leon Black Bio: The Billionaire Businessman Plagued by Scandal

Marc Rowan Early Business Success 

Before branching out to create his own business, Marc worked at Drexel as an investment banker. Eventually, he lost that job when Drexel went bankrupt in 1990. Then he formed Apollo Global Management, which went public in 2011. 

While most of his life has been fairly private, he is known for his affinity for risky trades that have earned him billions in return, as well as his profitable business ideas. According to the Financial Times, Rowan has always been quick to take advantage of tumultuous economic situations, managing to manipulate them to his benefit. 

A prime example of this was his creation of Athene Holding, an insurance firm held by Apollo Global Management that provided the company with a steady stream of income for the company. “The insurer now accounts for roughly two-fifths of the nearly $500 billion that Apollo manages for investors, plowing policyholders’ annuity payments into senior loans for everything from suburban homes to hospitals and airliners,” the article said. 

In March 2021, Marc Rowan stepped up to be the company’s CEO after its former CEO, Leon Black, was ousted due to his ties with Jeffery Epstein. Shortly after taking over, he has now decided to merge Apollo with Athens in a deal valued at $11 billion. 

Among the three co-creators of the company, Marc Rowan has been known to be the more level-headed one, with a more professional and measured demeanor than his other partners, Leon Black, and Joshua Harris. This was revealed by a scoop done on Marc by Business Insider recently to understand him better, mainly because of how he has always preferred to stay under the radar. This was confirmed by Rodney Cohen, a co-worker who said, “Marc is not in search of the spotlight. He prefers to do what he does and stay below the radar with his family and close friends,” when asked about Marc Rowan. 

He didn’t even really want the CEO spot – in fact, Marc Rowan was busy enjoying an open-ended sabbatical when corporate chaos forced him to return to the office. 

See also: 14 Most Influential Business Operators In The World To Inspire You

Marc Rowan Video 

In a recent interview done with Bloomberg Wealth, Marc Rowan sheds more light on how he runs the company as a CEO, what his main focus is in his new role, and how Apollo has been growing under his care. 

Some of the key takeaways from the interview are that Apollo not only did well but flourished during the pandemic in 2020 and kept this rate of growth for 2021 as well. Marc Rowan repeatedly stressed the importance of knowing what you’re doing when you enter certain markets. In another interview with Knowledge at Wharton, Rowan talked about the same thing in the following words: “…if we think we have a knowledge-based advantage, we’re active. If we don’t think we have a knowledge-based advantage, even if we see a good deal, it’s not really for us.” 

Marc Rowan Family

Not a lot is known about Marc Rowan’s personal life. He is married to Carolyn Rowan and has four children, and his mother is a pianist as well as a teacher. He grew up in New York, where he still lives with his family. 

Marc Rowan’s Net Worth and Career Earnings 

Rowan’s net worth today is estimated to be around $4.6 Billion. His company Apollo Global Management controls assets worth a total of about $470 to $500 Billion in assets and is active in markets like the US and Japan. 

Marc Rowan Real Estate Holdings 

Apart from his place of residence – an exclusive apartment in a co-op building – there isn’t much information available online about his family or his real estate holdings. 

He owns Apollo Global Management and all the companies under it. He is a known philanthropist known for his donations to education in Israel and his contributions to the Jewish community in his country. He also has his family investment firm, RWN Investments. 

Marc Rowan Quotes 

  • “Let’s not worry about what we do, let’s listen to what the market is telling us as to where the opportunity is, and let’s scale those businesses in response to market forces.” 
  • “Accept change before it’s visited upon you.”
  • “Don’t be defensive, be curious.” 

See also: Chris Sacca Bio: How This Billionaire Investor Managed to Retire at 42

FAQs 

Question: Why does the public know so little about Marc Rowan? 

Answer: Marc Rowan values privacy and has managed to keep most of his investments and personal life under wraps. This is in part due to his two partners taking most of the spotlight off him – while the company’s co-creators can be seen frequenting auctions and making flashy donations, that hasn’t been the case with him. There seems to be no information available online about his kids, his sister, or any other close family. 

Question: Is Marc Rowan just lucky? 

Answer: While he is known to be a risk-taker and a brilliant investor, Rowan’s success can hardly be chalked up to luck. Rather, he has been so successful in his business because of his deep understanding of the financial market and the things he works with. He has stated in multiple interviews that he and Apollo Global Management as an organization avoids trades and deals in markets and industries they don’t fully understand, even if the deals seem good. Sticking to what he knows and making sure he knows about what matters, as well as being adaptable and constantly open to change in the global financial market, seem to be the reasons for his success. 

Question: What do the people Marc Rowan works with think about him? 

Answer: The people he works with think of him as the calmer and less volatile of the three co-creators of Apollo Global Management – Rowan, Leon Black, and Joshua Harris. Overall, it has been speculated that the company will move towards smoother sailing and move in a positive direction under his leadership. 

Question: Is Marc Rowan successful? 

Answer: Marc Rowan is one of the most successful people in the world, making it to the Forbes 400 list and amassing a net worth of over $4.7 billion. 

Recommended Reads:

Research Citations

Latest posts by Mahnoor Fatima (see all)
Scroll to Top