Marc Rowan

A 1985 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Rowan was a prolific donor to the university until 2023 when he led a movement among donors objecting to the leadership’s lack of response to antisemitism on campus. He campaigned for the resignation of UPenn president Liz Magill and Board of Trustees chairman Scott L. Bok. ⁴

In 2020, Rowan donated $1 million to Trump Victory, a political committee separate from but aligned with the re-election campaign of then-President Donald Trump. ⁵

Apollo Global Management

Marc Rowan was formerly an investment banker for Drexel Burnham Lambert where he worked under one-time mentor Michael Milken, who was later convicted after a trading investigation. ⁶ Rowan and his two partners Joshua Harris and Leon Black later formed Apollo Global Management in 1990. ^{7 1}

Apollo has invested in solar energy, children’s entertainment, aerospace, movies, education services, and in real estate companies. ⁸ Rowan led Apollo’s insurance business, and its insurance subsidiary, Athene Holding, which helped boost the firm’s finances. ⁷

Apollo distributed about $4.4 billion to the managing partners between 2007 and 2010, including $1.2 billion distributed to Rowan. ¹

In 2011, Apollo Global Management began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Rowan earned more than $1.5 billion from Apollo since the initial public offering. Rowan owns 6.1% of the company’s common shares, according to a November 2023 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ¹

In November 2017, Apollo’s real estate investment trust known as Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance loaned $184 million to Kushner Companies to refinance the mortgage on a Chicago skyscraper. Kushner Companies is owned by the family of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of then-President Donald Trump. ⁹ In 2020, Rowan reportedly emailed Kushner, requesting that the Federal Reserve drop its collateral requirements for emergency lending. ¹⁰

Rowan became CEO of Apollo in 2021 at age 58, replacing predecessor Leon Black who stepped down after he was found to have sent millions in payments to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. ⁷ Black was later cleared of wrongdoing. ¹¹

AS of January 2024, Rowan has an estimated net worth of $7.84 billion, according to Bloomberg News. ¹

University of Pennsylvania

While Marc Rowan was a student at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), his father died, and his family could not afford his tuition. The school told him he could pay when he was able. ¹² In 1985, Rowan graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. ^{13 1} A few months after he graduated, he used his bonus as a junior investment banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert to pay off his debt. ¹²

Rowan went on to become the chairman of the board of advisors for the Wharton School of Business. ² He donated $50 million to the Wharton School in October 2018. ¹ Of the $50 million donation, $12 million was earmarked for the study of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a research initiative for analysis of public policy’s fiscal impact. ^{2 10}

However, in October 2023, days after Hamas attacked Israel, Rowan called for UPenn leaders to resign after failing to condemn what he considered an antisemitic event known as the Palestine Writes Literature Festival held on campus the previous month. The festival featured speakers who called for “death to Israel.” ¹⁴

Rowan wrote an op-ed that called on alumni to “close their checkbooks.” He wrote, “Join me and many others who love UPenn by sending the university $1 in place of your normal discretionary contribution so that no one misses the point.” ^{15 16}

Rowan and other alumni also expressed concern that university leadership was slow to condemn campus displays of support for the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Rowan campaigned for the resignations of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and Board of Trustees Chairman Scott L. Bok. ¹⁷

Rowan wrote a December 2023 email to university Board of Trustees titled, “Moving Forward.” The message said a “culture” at the school “distracted from UPenn’s core mission of scholarship, research, and academic excellence.” He further wrote the trustees had “clear choices” about the direction of the university and asked a series of questions, including whether the university should eliminate certain academic departments and if policies for admission of faculty should be examined. ¹⁸

Rowan called for the UPenn Board of Trustees to consider having direct elections for board members, establishing codes of conduct for the board and the university, and requiring fiduciary responsibility for board members so trustees will consider financial impact of their decisions. ⁸

In response to Rowan, more than 900 faculty signed onto a letter circulated by the UPenn Faculty Senate to oppose “attempts by trustees, donors, and other external actors to interfere with our academic policies and to undermine academic freedom.” ¹⁸ In January 2024, more than 100 people protested outside the Van Pelt Library on UPenn’s campus, with signs that said, “Hands off our university,” claiming Rowan threatened academic freedom. ¹⁹

Political Contributions

In 2020, Rowan donated $1 million to Trump Victory, a political committee that split its funding between the Donald Trump re-election campaign, the Republican National Committee, and state Republican committees. ⁵

Rowan has contributed to politicians from both parties, but contributes overwhelmingly to Republican candidates and committees, including the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the Club for Growth, which backs candidates in Republican primaries. ²⁰

Democrats to whom Rowan has contributed include Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). ²⁰

Boards and Philanthropy

Marc Rowan was listed on the Jerusalem Post’s “50 Most Influential Jews of 2021” for contributions to Israeli school, immigrant, and film groups. ⁸ He is the director of the Rowan Family Foundation. ²¹

In 2013, Rowan donated $1 million to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which provides education about the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Rowan has been a member of the board of directors of the National Jewish Outreach Program. ¹¹ He has also been on the board of OpenDor Media, a digital media company centered on engaging Jewish and Israeli content. ¹¹

Rowan is on the executive committee of the Civil Society Fellowship, a partnership of the Anti-Defamation League and the Aspen Institute. He is chairman of the board of UJA-Federation of New York, a philanthropy helping 4.5 million people that funds a network of nonprofits in New York, Israel, and 70 other countries. He is also a founding member and chairman for the Youth Renewal Fund. He is the vice chairman of Darca, an Israel educational network operating 47 schools with more than 27,000 students. ²

Rowan has also been a member of several corporate boards, including AP Alternative Assets, L.P., AMC Entertainment, Inc., Beats Music, CableCom., Cannondale Bicycle Corp., Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., Countrywide PLC, Culligan Water Technologies, Furniture Brands International, Mobile Satellite Ventures, National Cinemedia, National Financial Partners, New World Communications, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Quality Distribution, Samsonite Corporation, SkyTerra Communications, Unity Media SCA, Vail Resorts, and Wyndham International. ²²