Tony Ressler Net Worth

Tony Ressler has an estimated net worth of $10.6 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Tony Ressler profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $2.1 billion in 2019.

Tony Ressler is an American finance executive known for helping start Apollo Global Management and Ares Management. He began at Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he worked in the high yield bond department and later became a senior vice president with responsibility for the new issue and syndicate desk. After Drexel collapsed, he moved into private equity and cofounded Apollo Global Management in 1990 with Leon Black and other former colleagues from the firm.

Much of Ressler's wealth comes from the investment businesses he helped build over time. In 1997, he cofounded Ares Management with John H. Kissick and Bennett Rosenthal. He stayed in a top leadership role there until December 2017, when he stepped down as CEO and became executive chairman. He also built a sports ownership profile through a minority stake in the Milwaukee Brewers and by acquiring the Atlanta Hawks in 2015. Forbes currently estimates his net worth at $10.6 billion.

How Tony Ressler built his wealth

Ressler made his career in finance. At Drexel Burnham Lambert, he was known for his role in the bond department, and Wikipedia says he eventually became a senior vice president in the high yield bond department with responsibility for the new issue and syndicate desk. That experience set up his next move after Drexel's collapse, when he joined other former insiders to launch Apollo Global Management in 1990.

In 1997, he cofounded Ares Management with John H. Kissick and Bennett Rosenthal. Ares became the main base of his business career for years, and he remained a leading figure there until December 2017, when he shifted from CEO to executive chairman. Sports ownership added another part of his portfolio. He belonged to the investment group that acquired the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005, and he acquired the Atlanta Hawks in 2015 after leading the buying group.

A closer look at his money story

Ressler's fortune is tied mainly to finance and investments, the category Forbes uses for him. The core of that story is his work building private equity firms, first at Apollo Global Management and later at Ares Management. He is also the majority owner of the Atlanta Hawks and holds a minority stake in the Milwaukee Brewers. Forbes describes him as self-made, which fits a career built from Wall Street roles into firm ownership and long-term leadership.

His Hawks deal is one of the clearer public money markers in his career. Wikipedia says he led a group that acquired the team in June 2015 for US$730 million, and that it was ultimately sold to him for $850 million. Forbes now puts his wealth at $10.6 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026. That estimate follows decades in private equity, with Ares Management at the center of his business profile.