The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything

Praise for The New Tycoons "Jason Kelly has tenaciously reported on the private equity industry during its boom and bust. This lively book gives the reader a highly readable and enjoyable ′bird′s–eye view′ of some of the most interesting and traumatic years in the industry′s history." — JOSH LERNER , Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking, Harvard Business School, and Director, Private Capital Research Institute "Jason Kelly provides a fascinating account of the transformation of the private equity industry from relative obscurity a few decades ago to a major player in corporate America today. His book is a must–read for anybody who wants to know the individuals and the decisions they made that created this trillion dollar industry. The New Tycoons is well written as well as informative from the first to the last page." — JAMES R. BARTH , Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance, Auburn University, and Senior Finance Fellow, Milken Institute "In The New Tycoons , Jason Kelly provides an inside look at the private equity industry today. He does a terrific job of describing the fascinating histories and current strategies of many of the major private equity players." — STEVEN N. KAPLAN , Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business "Jason′s book delves into what′s behind the private equity curtain, describing both the business and its impact. As he was granted unparalleled access to the chieftains of private equity, the book has insights??that both the private equity professional and casual reader can appreciate. At a time when people are wondering what this industry is all about, this is an easy read and a thorough explanation of an important industry and its global presence in our lives." — PAUL SCHAYE , Managing Director, Chestnut Hill Partners, LLC

A Visual Tour of Private Equity xi Deciphering Private Equity xv Prologue xix Chapter 1 Find the Money 1 Chapter 2 All the Money in the World 19 Chapter 3 The L Word 43 Chapter 4 You Bought a Toilet Seat? “When Was the Last Time” 55 Chapter 5 Modern Art 73 Chapter 6 Put on Your Boots 95 Chapter 7 Aura of Cool 111 Chapter 8 Hundreds and Billions 123 Chapter 9 Take This Exit 141 Chapter 10 The Taxman Cometh 155 Chapter 11 It’s a Steve, Steve, Steve World 165 Chapter 12 Not–So–Private Equity 187 Afterword 199 Notes 203 Acknowledgments 211 About the Author 215 Index 217

JASON KELLY is a reporter with Bloomberg News based in New York. He covers the global private equity industry and is a frequent contributor to Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Businessweek . During his ten years with Bloomberg, Kelly has also followed the technology industry and written about issues ranging from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to economic development during the war in Afghanistan. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he was the editor in chief of digitalsouth magazine, a publication focused on technology and finance in the Southeast and Texas.

Subtitled Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry that owns Everything , Kelly tries to demystify the complex world of private equity through telling the stories of the leading characters and key firms in the industry. A Bloomberg news reporter, Kelly is familiar with his subject and he traces the mushrooming of this industry from a relatively small niche area of financial service into a globally powerful phenomenon. The book has a timely edge given the presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney, a former chief executive of Bain Capital, and is certainly well researched. Kelly notes that he is trained to look for surprise and that as he researched the book, the omnipresence of the industry surprised even him. So much is owned by the industry, and the appetite to run the numbers on businesses that are not, appears to be relentless. Kelly does his best to make the complex simple with glossaries and charts; it is a challenging read nonetheless. Although interesting for the general reader, the book will be of most interest to those who work in the global financial services industry and who can relate readily to the firms under consideration here. ( Irishtimes.com , November 2012)