John Zito

Senior executive at Apollo Global Management focused on the firm's credit business and capital markets strategy.

Mentions

Appeared in

Discussed in

Key positions and views

The U.S. maintains a dominant, almost monopolistic, position in global capital markets due to its unparalleled scale, depth, and efficiency, particularly in securitization.

The integration of a large insurance balance sheet (from Athene) with a purpose-built asset origination network is Apollo's key competitive advantage, creating a scalable, self-reinforcing investment engine.

A massive, untapped opportunity exists in providing private market assets to the 91% of private wealth clients who currently have no allocation to alternatives.

The traditional lines between public and private markets are blurring, and the future of finance will involve more liquid, tokenized private assets, a trend Apollo is actively pursuing.

There is a critical and growing need for large-scale private capital to fund major infrastructure projects, such as AI data centers, and to address significant underinvestment in sectors like European defense.

Podcast consensus on Zito

Points of consensus

▶John Zito consistently emphasizes that Apollo operates at a massive and rapidly expanding scale, citing its near-$800 billion AUM, a growth rate of $150 billion per year, and origination of $260 billion in products in the last year alone.Apr 2026

▶The merger with insurance company Athene is repeatedly framed as a cornerstone of Apollo's strategy, providing over $300 billion in permanent capital from its own balance sheet which fuels the firm's investment activities.Apr 2026

▶A key element of Apollo's success, according to Zito, is its deliberate strategy of building a proprietary asset origination engine, evidenced by the firm spending nearly $10 billion between 2014 and 2022 to acquire specialized platforms.Apr 2026

▶Zito highlights Apollo's ability to execute large, complex financing deals for investment-grade companies, repeatedly mentioning clients like Intel, BP, Air France, and Vonovia as proof of its capabilities in the private credit space.

Points of debate

▶Zito asserts that the United States holds a 'near-monopolistic position in global capital markets,' a strong claim that would likely be debated by analysts who point to the significant growth and influence of Asian and European financial centers.Apr 2026

▶He presents a stark contrast between the $15 trillion U.S. securitized market and Europe's $500 billion market. While the data highlights a difference, the interpretation that this implies a simple lack of sophistication could be contested by those pointing to different regulatory, banking, and cultural frameworks in Europe.

▶Zito's core thesis that most private assets will become more liquid and blur the lines with public markets represents a forward-looking view that is not universally accepted, facing significant debate around regulatory, technological, and market-structure hurdles.Apr 2026

▶The claim that daily liquid fixed income products have 'not changed in 25 years' is a provocative statement that might be challenged by innovators and proponents of the evolution seen in ETFs, mutual funds, and other structured products over that period.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶The Self-Perpetuating Origination MachineApr 2026

Zito describes Apollo's core business model as a powerful flywheel that pairs long-duration liabilities from its insurance arm, Athene, with a proprietary network of acquired origination platforms. The insurance business generates massive, consistent capital inflows ($1-2B/week in annuities), which are then deployed through specialized platforms into a diverse range of credit assets, allowing Apollo to capture a reliable investment spread at immense scale.

This integrated model gives Apollo a significant competitive advantage in private credit, as it controls both the source of long-term capital and the origination of assets, reducing reliance on banks and allowing it to structure complex, large-scale deals like the $11 billion financing for Intel.

▶U.S. Capital Market SupremacyApr 2026

A recurring theme in Zito's analysis is the structural dominance and superior scale of U.S. financial markets compared to global counterparts, particularly Europe. He cites the depth of the U.S. securitized market ($15T vs. Europe's $500B), the speed of its venture capital ecosystem, and higher equity valuation multiples as evidence of America's 'near-monopolistic' position.

This perspective underpins Apollo's strategic focus on the U.S. market and suggests that opportunities for European expansion may lie in exporting U.S.-style financing and securitization structures to a market Zito views as underdeveloped.

▶The Convergence of Public and Private MarketsApr 2026

Zito's forward-looking thesis is that the traditional barriers between public and private markets will erode, driven by technology and investor demand for new forms of liquidity. He notes that Apollo is actively pioneering this shift by experimenting with tokenized funds on the blockchain and creating partnerships to facilitate market-making for private investment-grade securities.

For investors, this theme signals that a major player like Apollo is positioning itself for a future where illiquid assets can be traded more freely, potentially unlocking trillions in value but also introducing new forms of systemic risk.

▶Flexible, All-Weather Capital Deployment

Zito emphasizes that Apollo's investment teams are structured to be opportunistic across the entire risk-return spectrum (from 5% to 20%), rather than being siloed into rigid fund mandates. This flexibility enables the firm to execute complex maneuvers in distressed situations, such as the profitable turnarounds in Hertz and Carvana, while simultaneously providing large-scale, long-duration financing to blue-chip investment-grade companies.

This 'hybrid' approach allows Apollo to adapt to changing market conditions, deploying capital where it sees the best risk-adjusted returns, whether in high-yield distressed debt or stable, long-term corporate credit.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

Post-GFC (2008-2022)

Zito characterizes this period as one where zero-interest-rate policy drove a dominant investment strategy of shifting from fixed income to equity. He notes that since the GFC, Apollo has raised over 50% of all equity capital in the U.S. retirement insurance sector.

2014-2022

During this eight-year period, Zito states that Apollo strategically spent nearly $10 billion of its own capital to acquire a portfolio of asset origination platforms, building the foundation of its integrated credit ecosystem.

2019

Zito mentions Apollo partnered with Mubadala to create a $12 billion balance sheet structured as a 50-50 joint venture for large-cap direct lending.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Zito highlights Apollo's opportunistic investment during the pandemic, detailing the strategy to buy Hertz term loans at 60 cents on the dollar with the belief the company could be acquired for under $1 billion.

Post-Athene Merger

Zito describes the transformative impact of merging with Athene, which brought over $300 billion of balance sheet assets to the firm, cementing its status as a capital markets giant and fueling its massive weekly annuity writing and asset origination.

Recent Past (Last Year)

Zito quantifies Apollo's recent activity, stating the firm originated $260 billion of investment-grade and private asset products and is growing its total AUM at a rate of $150 billion per year.

Suggested prompts

How does Apollo's strategy of owning both long-duration liabilities (Athene) and asset origination platforms impact its risk profile compared to traditional asset managers? &nearr;What are the primary regulatory and technological hurdles to John Zito's vision of a future where private assets are as liquid as public ones? &nearr;Given Zito's emphasis on U.S. capital market dominance, what specific catalysts or changes would be required for European markets to close the gap in securitization and venture capital? &nearr;How might the increasing allocation of private wealth to alternative assets, as advocated by Zito, change market dynamics and valuations in private credit and equity? &nearr;

Key concepts

Apollo's Business Model 1 ep Private Credit 1 ep Market Structure (US vs. Europe) 1 ep Distressed Investing 1 ep Securitization 1 ep Retirement Services & Insurance 1 ep Asset Origination Strategy 1 ep Tokenization & Financial Innovation 1 ep Geopolitical Investment Theses 1 ep

Notable quotes

“We're a 800 billion, just under $800 billion asset manager. A vast majority of our capital is in credit.”

John Zito · How Apollo Built an $800 Billion Capital Markets Giant | John Zito Interview

“We have a $15 trillion securitized market here in the US. There's a $500 billion securitized market in Europe. The economies aren't that different in size.”

John Zito · How Apollo Built an $800 Billion Capital Markets Giant | John Zito Interview

“from 2014 to 2022, we spent just under $10 billion of our own capital buying our own origination.”

John Zito · How Apollo Built an $800 Billion Capital Markets Giant | John Zito Interview

“We're writing anywhere between a billion to $2 billion of annuities per week.”

John Zito · How Apollo Built an $800 Billion Capital Markets Giant | John Zito Interview

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

Get started free

Back to Entities Intelligence Report