Key Takeaways
- • Marc Rowan, billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management and outgoing chair of Wharton's Board of Advisors, maintained documented contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2013 and 2016, according to Department of Justice email releases.
- • Correspondence included phone calls and multiple visits to Epstein's New York home, with discussions about purchasing Rowan's private jet and breakfast meetings at Epstein's residence.
- • Apollo Global Management issued a statement denying business relationships between Rowan and Epstein, asserting that Rowan "provided information to Mr Epstein in connection with his tax work for Mr Black" (co-founder Leon Black) but had no independent business or personal relationship with Epstein.
- • Rowan has not been accused of involvement in Epstein's crimes or wrongdoing; the earliest recorded correspondence dates to August 2013, five years after Epstein's 2008 conviction and 18-month jail sentence for solicitation of prostitution charges.
- • The disclosure raises questions about governance and due diligence standards among institutional leaders, though the nature and scope of Rowan's interactions remain limited to documented contact during a five-year window.
Summary
Marc Rowan, the outgoing chair of Wharton School's Board of Advisors and co-founder of the $500 billion private equity firm Apollo Global Management, maintained documented contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2013 and 2016, according to email exchanges released by the Department of Justice last week and analyzed by The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The correspondence reveals that Rowan, a 1984 Wharton bachelor's degree holder and 1985 MBA graduate, engaged in phone calls and made multiple visits to Epstein's New York home during this period. Email exchanges document discussions about a potential sale of Rowan's private jet and repeated plans to meet for breakfast at Epstein's residence. The earliest recorded contact between the two occurred in August 2013—five years after Epstein was sentenced to an 18-month jail term in 2008 following a guilty plea to charges of solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of prostitution from a minor.
Apollo Global Management, co-founded by Rowan alongside 1986 Wharton graduate Joshua Harris and investor Leon Black, issued a statement clarifying the nature of these interactions. According to Rowan's spokesperson, "In select instances, Mr Rowan provided information to Mr Epstein in connection with his tax work for Mr Black." The statement further asserted that while Epstein sought to conduct work with Apollo's co-founders beyond Black, "Mr Rowan had neither a business nor any other relationship with Mr Epstein. As previously stated, Apollo never did any business with Mr Epstein."
The University of Pennsylvania declined to comment on the disclosure. Rowan has not been accused of involvement in Epstein's crimes or wrongdoing. The released documents indicate that Rowan, Harris, and Black met with Epstein on several occasions related to their work at Apollo, though the specific business context of these meetings remains limited in the available record.
The correspondence reveals that Rowan, a 1984 Wharton bachelor's degree holder and 1985 MBA graduate, engaged in phone calls and made multiple visits to Epstein's New York home during this period. Email exchanges document discussions about a potential sale of Rowan's private jet and repeated plans to meet for breakfast at Epstein's residence. The earliest recorded contact between the two occurred in August 2013—five years after Epstein was sentenced to an 18-month jail term in 2008 following a guilty plea to charges of solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of prostitution from a minor.
Apollo Global Management, co-founded by Rowan alongside 1986 Wharton graduate Joshua Harris and investor Leon Black, issued a statement clarifying the nature of these interactions. According to Rowan's spokesperson, "In select instances, Mr Rowan provided information to Mr Epstein in connection with his tax work for Mr Black." The statement further asserted that while Epstein sought to conduct work with Apollo's co-founders beyond Black, "Mr Rowan had neither a business nor any other relationship with Mr Epstein. As previously stated, Apollo never did any business with Mr Epstein."
The University of Pennsylvania declined to comment on the disclosure. Rowan has not been accused of involvement in Epstein's crimes or wrongdoing. The released documents indicate that Rowan, Harris, and Black met with Epstein on several occasions related to their work at Apollo, though the specific business context of these meetings remains limited in the available record.
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