The Scoop
Josh Harris’ investment firm, 26North, fired a top executive because of concerns over his previous work at 777, the investment firm and would-be Everton soccer club buyer that is under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors, people familiar with the matter said.
26North hired Jorge Beruff in September to help lead its insurance business. Beruff had spent six years at 777, including at its Bermudan reinsurance arm, which invested policyholders’ money into risky and illiquid deals including European soccer teams, payday lenders, and failing airlines.
The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating whether 777 broke money-laundering laws, Semafor reported in November. Prosecutors have interviewed current and former 777 employees, and state insurance regulators in Utah and elsewhere are also investigating the company’s insurance operations, people familiar with the matter said.
Through his lawyer, Beruff disputed that his departure from 26North was related to his time at 777. A 26North spokeswoman declined to comment.
Harris, known outside of Wall Street as the new owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders, founded 26North in 2022 after losing a power struggle at Apollo, where he was a co-founder and at one point the heir apparent. His new firm looks so far like a mini Apollo, with about $5 billion in investment funds, $4 billion in insurance money, and a pending application for a publicly traded loan fund.
Liz’s view
The hottest corner of Wall Street right now is, improbably, insurance. Life insurance and annuities companies bring in billions of dollars each year from policyholders who don’t need to be paid back until they retire or die, an attractive pot of dealmaking money for private-equity firms. Apollo figured this out more than a decade ago, and its insurance arm, Athene, is now writing policies almost faster than Apollo can invest the cash (about $60 billion last year).
Over the past few months I’ve been hearing from executives at Apollo, KKR, and other firms active in this space who are worried about the scrutiny that 777 is putting on the entire business model, which rests on being seen as responsible stewards. The 26North moves suggest that the blast radius is starting to widen.
This story has been updated to include a comment from Beruff.