Pay surged at Apollo Global Management in first quarter

Investment firm Apollo Global Management announced its first quarter results this morning. Pay for its employees is up considerably.

Apollo's total spending on salaries bonuses and benefits jumped 25% in the first quarter, to $175m. Spending on equity-based compensation increased 8% to $56m over the same period. Headcount rose from around 1,600 to around 1,700 between 2020 and 2021, although the highest pay will go to Apollo's 550 investment professionals.

Apollo's first quarter spending on salaries and bonuses doesn't include the generous carried interest based on shared profits accrued for its more senior investment staff. Carried interest was negative in the first quarter of 2020, but recovered to $655m in the first quarter of 2021. 

When all forms of compensation are considered, the average Apollo employee accrued $522k in compensation for the first three months of 2021 alone.

Soaring pay reflected soaring revenues and profits. In the first quarter of 2020, Apollo made a loss. In the first quarter of 2021, its profits of $1.5bn were nearly four times higher than in the first quarter of 2019.

Associates at Apollo have lately been complaining of being overworked and several have left after allegedly working 20-hour days. Last month, Apollo reportedly offered its associates (who were already earning over $450k a year) additional bonuses of between $100k and $200k, conditional on them staying at the firm until at least September 2022.

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