Meet the 37-year-old Apollo partner behind the $26 billion bid for Paramount

Aaron Sobel, a 37-year-old partner at Apollo, is leading the private equity giant’s effort, according to the individual who was not authorized to speak to the media. The University of Michigan grad joined Apollo in 2011 from Goldman Sachs and rose quickly through its ranks.

Sobel oversees media and entertainment deals at Apollo with fellow partner Lee Solomon. They co-led the $760 million purchase of a minority stake in Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind “Dune,” in 2022. Last October, they helped Concord Music Group, a royalties giant, raise $500 million in bond sales to buy the copyright holder of songs by The Beatles.

“It’s pretty clear there aren’t going to be seven subscription VOD platforms in the next five to 10 years,” Sobel told Business Insider at the time of the Legendary acquisition. “Everyone’s figuring out how much of the ecosystem they’re going to get and there’s going to be a lot of consolidation.”

In 2022, Business Insider spoke to 35 sources — including current and former Apollo executives and employees — to learn how Sobel and other precocious partners made their way to the top.

Sobel isn’t the stereotypical sharp-elbowed dealmaker, Business Insider previously reported. Sobel helped coach Leon Black’s son on investing when he was an associate. He is also known for his active engagement with CEOs, sending one of them news clippings to keep him up to date on recent business trends.

Joshua Grode, the CEO of Legendary, said Sobel exhibits a thoughtfulness that’s not always associated with members of a dynamic boardroom. “One of the terrific character traits Aaron has is that he approaches every conversation with a very open mind,” Grode said in 2022. “He wants to listen to it, absorb it, and think about it, and not bring his preconception to the conversation.”