Leon Black: Wall Street's Dr. No

When Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., the high-flying U.S. junk-bond firm, collapsed in 1990 amid admissions of widespread securities fraud, the career prospects of Drexel investment banker Leon D. Black did not seem auspicious. As head of the firm's mergers-and-acquisitions operation, Black worked closely with Michael L. Milken, who went on to serve 22 months in prison.

Black emerged with a clean record, and now, six years later at 45, he runs one of America's largest and most successful private buyout firms, Apollo Advisors LP. Black's $7 billion-plus empire consists of stakes in 26 diverse companies, including luggage maker Samsonite Corp. and Empire Kosher Poultry Inc. His personal fortune is estimated at upwards of $500 million. Apollo's net annual returns of about 40% dwarf the 29% and 24% returns posted as of Mar. 31 for buyout funds formed in 1990 and 1992, respectively, according to Venture Economics, a Boston research firm.