He was once a valet parker. Now he’s worth $11 b

Marc Rowan, once a valet parker at the Diplomat Hotel and a driver of vehicles between New York and Florida, has amassed an estimated net worth of $11.1 billion. Today, he is the CEO of Apollo, one of the world's largest alternative asset management firms, with assets exceeding $1 trillion. Rowan's journey from a service job to a prominent position in the financial industry took over four decades.

Rowan grew up in Florida and New York, attending high school in Hollywood, Florida. His early jobs included parking cars, driving vehicles for snowbirds, and working at a party goods store and a kosher catering business. He later studied finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, where he was inspired by the subject after finding it more appealing than his pre-law program.

After graduating from Wharton with a bachelor's degree and an MBA, Rowan joined Drexel Burnham Lambert in the mergers and acquisitions department. However, his career was abruptly ended when Drexel collapsed in 1990 due to the junk bond crisis. Undeterred, Rowan co-founded Apollo with two former Drexel colleagues, Leon Black and Josh Harris. Apollo grew into a trillion-dollar business, and Rowan became its CEO in 2021.

Rowan's career trajectory is not unique among major US business leaders. Other CEOs, such as Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, started with ordinary jobs while studying. Ellison began his career at Target, working part-time while attending the University of Memphis, while Nooyi took overnight shifts as a dormitory receptionist during her time at Yale University. These early experiences likely shaped their determination and work ethic, setting the stage for their successful careers.