Ares is proud to share that Bill Benjamin, Co-Head of Ares Real Estate, has been named to Private Equity News’ Twenty Most Influential in Real Estate 2025 list. Bill joined Ares through the firm’s acquisition of Area Property Partners and was promoted to Global Head of Real Estate shortly thereafter. He now serves as Co-Head of Ares Real Estate alongside his longtime business partner Julie Solomon. In his 12 years at Ares, Bill has helped build the firm’s real estate business to its now $58B in AUM, as of yesterday's earnings call, and Co-Chairs Ares Industrial Real Estate Trust, is a member of Ares’ executive committee and is the incoming Chair of Impetus, a private equity charity helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Congratulations on this recognition, Bill!
We are proud to share that Ares placed 51st on Forbes’ inaugural list of America’s Best Companies. We were ranked based on a wide-ranging assessment of over 2,000 public companies headquartered in the U.S. across 60 key metrics spanning 11 primary categories. Since Ares' founding, we have prioritized culture, investor relationships and financial performance and we are proud to be ranked in the top 3% of qualifying companies across these important areas. More on the methodology behind this ranking and the complete list of featured companies here:
A lot is said about the strength of our culture, so we asked Ares’ co-founders and leaders to define it in their own words. Watch their full conversation:
Since opening Ares’ Mumbai office in 2019, we have built a strong presence on the ground covering a number of key business functions. Below, meet a few members of our team who share their experience at the firm and highlight the impact of Ares’ culture.
We are proud to share that Matthew Eid-Holm, Principal in Ares Infrastructure Opportunities, has been featured on Business Insider’s list of Wall Street’s Rising Stars of 2024, an annual ranking of executives shaping the future of finance. Read Matthew’s full interview for more on his experience with digital assets, including the development of modern data centers, and how his role has grown and scaled through the proliferation of computing power, storage demand and commercialized artificial intelligence:
At CFA Society Toronto’s 67th Annual Investment Dinner, Ares’ Co-Head of European Credit Blair Jacobson moderated a discussion with Hank Paulson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2006-2009.
Last week, Ares’ European Direct Lending team hosted an event in Paris alongside Cambon Partners and over 50 entrepreneurs, private equity investors and financial advisors to discuss investment trends spanning the French independent wealth management industry. The event included panel discussions touching on the strategic value of private debt, the impact of the regulatory environment on the financial advisory business model and more. This was the latest in the team’s series of sector-focused initiatives and helped showcase Ares’ leadership in the region. Thank you to all who joined us!
Lisa Marie K.Y Djeng CESGA, CMA, CAMS, Ares Asia ESG Lead, recently spoke on a panel at the DBS Bank Future Leaders Program event in Singapore. The event comes as we approach what some believe to be the greatest intergenerational wealth transfer in history, with younger generations—for whom ESG is top of mind—set to inherit trillions. Against this backdrop, Lisa shared Ares’ approach and insights about how investment in the private markets through an ESG lens can offer transparency, value creation and risk mitigation. She also touched on trends in ESG investing in the APAC region and the need for actionable data and analytics.
For the second year in a row, Ares European Direct Lending held a 5-a-side football tournament to raise funds for the UK-based mental health charity Sport in Mind, which focuses on improving the lives of people experiencing mental health issues through sports initiatives. This year’s tournament at Stamford Bridge hosted 16 firms, with Ares matching both team and individual donations to raise a total of £27,375 to support individuals facing mental health challenges, helping them find hope and strength through sports.
