Private Equity Fights Insurance for $15 Trillion Retirement Prize

The swanky cabana by the rooftop pool at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills had been booked for the Milken Institute Global Conference by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., an almost century-old purveyor of life insurance and annuities.

But in the afternoon of the first full day, the company made way for a cocktail party hosted by the private equity and private credit giant Apollo Global Management Inc. As Nationwide executives left, a glowing Apollo sign was set up above a pop-up bar and its name was spelled out in huge letters in the pool.