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The Apollo Landing That Wasn’t

Last week, Apollo’s Marc Rowan was summoned to Mar-a-Lago to talk about leading the Treasury for Trump 2.0. And while the job went to Scott Bessent in the end, the meeting reveals the president-elect’s sweeping agenda and what some on Wall Street see as a massive opportunity.

Marc Rowan
Marc had heard from enough people between Wednesday and Friday night, when Trump made the decision, to know that he wasn’t going to be the choice for Treasury Secretary. Photo: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg/Getty Images
William D. Cohan
November 27, 2024

Marc Rowan, the C.E.O. of Apollo Global Management, was tending to the firm’s business in Hong Kong some 10 days ago, when he got a call from Cliff Sims, President-elect Donald Trump’s scheduling guru. Sims had a question: Would Rowan be up for having a little tête-à-tête with Trump about becoming treasury secretary? Marc replied, “Of course.” And with that, he boarded his jet and, with a stop to refuel in Anchorage, was on his way to the West Palm Beach airport for his Wednesday meeting.