TONY RESSLER
Co-founder of Ares Management and Apollo Global Management, owner of the Atlanta Hawks
Tony Ressler co-founded not one but two major investment firms — Apollo Global Management and Ares Management — which together manage over $1 trillion in assets. Then he bought the Atlanta Hawks because apparently building two financial empires was not enough to fill his weekends. The man who helped invent modern alternative credit investing and then decided to fix an NBA franchise for fun.
Net Worth
$6 Billion
Nationality
American
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
7 / 10
Net Worth Context
- · Still a billionaire — just the quiet kind at the end of the table.
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Tony Ressler co-founded Apollo Global Management in 1990 alongside Leon Black, Josh Harris, and Marc Rowan. He left Apollo in 1997 to co-found Ares Management, focusing on credit and direct lending — essentially the less flashy but equally profitable side of alternative investing.
Ares has grown to manage over $400 billion in assets, making it one of the largest credit-focused investment firms in the world. Ressler served as chairman and has been the driving force behind Ares' growth.
In 2015, he led a group that purchased the Atlanta Hawks for $730 million. He has since invested in the team's arena, the surrounding real estate development, and the overall fan experience.
COMPANIES & ROLES
Apollo Global Management (co-founder), Ares Management (co-founder and chairman, $400B+ AUM), Atlanta Hawks (owner)
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Ressler is a credit investor at his core. While Apollo became known for buyouts and distressed debt, Ares under Ressler focused on direct lending, corporate credit, and real estate debt.
He looks for situations where he can lend money at attractive rates to companies that banks will not serve — the middle market lending space that traditional banks abandoned after the financial crisis. It is a less glamorous form of investing but produces incredibly steady returns.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
Moderate to high. Credit investing is inherently about managing risk — you are lending money, so the key question is always "will I get paid back?" Ressler is aggressive in deploying capital but conservative in underwriting.
Ares' loss rates on its lending portfolio have been remarkably low over two decades. He takes scale risk (large funds, lots of deals) but manages individual deal risk tightly.
Money Habits
Ressler lives well — he owns the Hawks, has significant real estate, and is active in Los Angeles and Atlanta social circles. He is a major philanthropist, particularly in education and healthcare.
His wife, Jami Gertz, is a well-known actress, making them one of the highest-profile couples in the PE world.
BIGGEST WIN
Co-founding two firms that together manage over $1 trillion. Ares specifically has been a compounding machine — it went public in 2014 and has grown AUM from $80 billion to over $400 billion.
Ressler saw that post-2008 banking regulations would create a permanent gap in the lending market, and Ares filled it perfectly.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
Leaving Apollo in 1997 could be seen as leaving money on the table — Apollo went on to become a $670 billion giant. But Ressler has said he has no regrets, since Ares gave him the freedom to build something on his own terms.
The Atlanta Hawks have also been inconsistent on the court despite investment.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Consistent, predictable income beats spectacular but volatile returns. Ressler built Ares on the idea that lending money at 8-12% with low losses is a better risk-adjusted return than most equity strategies.
Compounding steady returns over decades beats chasing home runs.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Married to Jami Gertz (actress). Based in Los Angeles.
Very active in philanthropy — major donations to Cedars-Sinai, UCLA, and various education initiatives.
EDUCATION
UCLA (BA), Columbia Business School (MBA).
BOOKS & RESOURCES
Covers the alternative credit world Ares Management operates in
Foundational private equity reading. Ares Management quarterly investor letters provide insight into credit markets and the lending strategies Ressler pioneered
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QUOTES (6)
Credit investing is not glamorous. Nobody writes articles about a loan that paid back on time. But the returns are real and they compound beautifully.
Banks retreated from middle market lending after 2008. We walked right in. That gap has been the source of $400 billion in assets for us.
I co-founded Apollo, then left to start Ares. Sometimes you have to leave something great to build something that is yours.
Owning the Hawks is the most fun investment I have ever made. Everything else generates returns. The Hawks generate joy.
The best risk management in credit is simple: only lend to companies that can pay you back. Everything else is window dressing.
Ares went from zero to $400 billion because we solved a real problem: who lends money to good companies that are too small for the bond market and too complex for banks?
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