Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management Inc., has opened a branch of his family office in Abu Dhabi, expanding his global reach.
The billionaire’s Middle East outpost, called Scimitar, is investing with a locally based team led by financier Asad Hussaini, who was previously with a firm focused on real estate opportunities in the Gulf region.
“I’ve been coming here for more than 30 years, and the growth and prosperity that has occurred under Abu Dhabi’s visionary leadership is truly remarkable,” Black said in an emailed statement. “My family office wants to be a part of that transformation.”
Scimitar will be in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s financial free zone, which is attracting a growing collection of hedge funds, private equity firms and family offices. Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris has said he plans to move his family’s investment firm to ADGM, while crypto exchange founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, India’s Adani family, hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and Russian steel magnate Vladimir Lisin also have offices registered there.
Scimitar’s opening underscores that ADGM is a hub for family offices across the globe, a spokesperson for the zone said.
Black, 73, who has a net worth of $14.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, spent three decades at the helm of Apollo. Marc Rowan took over as CEO after Black’s exit in 2021, which came after revelations that he had ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019. Black has maintained he was unaware of Epstein’s sex crimes but admitted paying him $158 million for tax services.
Since leaving Apollo, Black has been focused on philanthropy and running his family office, Elysium Management, in New York.