What's next for Leon Black?

December 7, 2008 | By Jim Kim

The private equity industry has been taking some hits for a year now, and none more so than Leon Black, the head of Apollo Group, which has seen deal after deal start to unravel. We've noted the problems with certain portfolio companies, notably Huntsman, Linens 'n Things, and of course Harrah's and Realology. What's more, Black's gym on his 90-acre, Westchester County estate burned to the ground, and his good friend Carl Icahn is suing one of his companies, according to the New York Times. Black says, private equity as we know it is dead, but there is an answer: Restructurings and distressed securities. He tells the Times that "we've totally turned into a bond house." Goldman Sachs' recent experience with such funds suggests that it's not that easy.

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