# The private-equity confidence game > A new book on Apollo and Leon Black asks what it means for Wall Street to be run by private equity. - Title: The private-equity confidence game · Slate Magazine | Shortify - Summary: A new book on Apollo and Leon Black asks what it means for Wall Street to be run by private equity. Private equity now sets the terms on Wall Street, and… - Keywords: private equity, apollo, leon black, wall street, podcasts, private-equity, confidence, game, Slate Magazine - Source: Slate Magazine — https://slate.com/podcasts/slate-money/2026/09/business-leon-black-private-equity-and-credit-giant-apollo?via=rss - Published: 2026-09-12T07:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: private equity, apollo, leon black, wall street, podcasts ## A book on the money machine Slate Money digs into Money to Burn, William D. Cohan's new book on Apollo Global Management and the billionaire who cofounded it. > The new book Money to Burn goes deep on private-equity behemoth Apollo Global Management ## Who Leon Black is Black cofounded Apollo and ran it as CEO, turning it into one of the largest private-equity firms in the world before stepping away. ## A tragic origin story Cohan traces Black's empire back to a painful family history, the kind of beginning that shaped how he built and defended what came next. > Black's tragic origin story ## The Epstein friendship Black's strange, expensive relationship with Jeffrey Epstein became the scandal that overshadowed his career and forced questions Apollo could not dodge. > messy personal scandals, and strange friendship with Jeffrey Epstein ## Wall Street belongs to PE Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers and Emily Peck press Cohan on the bigger shift: private equity, not the old investment banks, now runs the show. > what it means for Wall Street to be dominated by private equity ## Where to listen The episode is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else. Slate Plus members also get a bonus segment on Trump's cash-in-the-mail campaign tactic. ## Key takeaway Private equity now sets the terms on Wall Street, and Apollo's rise shows how much of that power was built on one man's reputation.