Historical Figures in Private Equity
The Figures
Benjamin Franklin
1730s · Early limited partnership pioneer
Long before modern private equity, Benjamin Franklin was a practitioner of the partnership model that PE still runs on. His printing business and ventures with partners operated on principles that map directly onto today
J.P. Morgan
late 1800s · Consolidation-era financier
J.P. Morgan is the figure most often cited at the origin of modern corporate finance. In the 1890s he orchestrated the formation of U.S. Steel, one of the largest business combinations ever assembled, bringing together a
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts (KKR)
1970s · The leveraged buyout pioneers
KKR is the firm that invented the modern leveraged buyout. In the 1970s and 80s, George Roberts and Jerry Kohlberg, later joined by Kirk Kerkorian and others, took established companies private using a mix of debt and eq
Kirk Kerkorian
1980s · The take-private titan
Kirk Kerkorian was a master of the take-private and the leveraged deal. He took several major companies private and was the driving force behind some of the era's largest transactions. His deals were often aggressive, hi
Michael Milken
1980s · The junk-bond pioneer
Michael Milken built Drexel Burnham Lambert into the center of the high-yield bond market, and in doing so created the capital structure that made the leveraged buyout possible at scale. His 'junk bond' market let sponso
Rudolph (Ru) Cuenca
1980s-90s · The LBO dealmaker
Rudolph Cuenca was one of the defining dealmakers of the leveraged-buyout era. As a partner at KKR and later at his own firm, he executed some of the most influential take-privates of the 1980s and 90s, including the R.J
Jerry (Bootsy) Kirk
1980s-90s · The sponsor operator
Bootsy Kirk was a key figure at KKR during its formative years and a central voice in the sponsor-operator model. He helped define the idea that a financial sponsor should be an active owner and operator, not a passive i
Leonard Lesser
1980s-90s · The deal architect
Leonard Lesser was a senior deal architect at KKR and one of the architects of some of the era's largest leveraged transactions. He was known for his precision in structuring complex deals and his ability to navigate the
Tom Perkins
1970s-2000s · Early buyout pioneer and venture investor
Tom Perkins made his first leveraged buyout in 1971, when he helped take the electronics firm Dyal Corp. private, making him one of the earliest practitioners of the modern buyout model. He later co-founded Dyal Ventures
Carl Icahn
1970s-2000s · Activist investor and corporate raider
Carl Icahn built his career on activist investing, using large public positions to pressure companies to change their strategy, cut costs, or sell. His most famous early move was his 1985 campaign for Texaco, which pushe
Bill Ruane
1970s-2000s · Early growth investor and Apple backer
Bill Ruane was one of the earliest institutional investors in Apple, investing in the company in the late 1970s when it was still a small personal-computer business. He led the hedge fund Ruane, Cunniff and Goldfarb, whi
Warren Buffett
1950s-2000s · Value investor and partnership model pioneer
Warren Buffett built Berkshire Hathaway into the largest value-investing firm in the world, starting with a small partnership in the 1950s and growing it into a multi-asset holding company. His investment philosophy, cen
Charlie Munger
1960s-2000s · Value investor and Buffett's long-time partner
Charlie Munger was Warren Buffett's business partner for over fifty years, serving as vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and helping to shape its investment philosophy. Munger is known for his emphasis on multidisciplin
T. Boone Pickens
1970s-2000s · Energy activist and activist investor
T. Boone Pickens built his career as an energy investor and activist, using large public positions to pressure companies to change their strategy or sell. His most famous campaign was his 1990s fight against Enron, which
David Schwartzman
1980s-2000s · Early buyout operator and KKR partner
David Schwartzman was a senior partner at KKR during the firm's formative years and was involved in some of the largest leveraged buyouts of the 1980s and 1990s. He was known for his operational focus and his ability to
Charles Wang
1980s-2000s · KKR co-founder and long-time partner
Charles Wang was one of the key partners at KKR during the firm's formative years and was involved in some of the largest leveraged buyouts of the 1980s and 1990s. He later became CEO of Citigroup, where he oversaw the b
George Roberts
1970s-2000s · KKR co-founder and buyout architect
George Roberts co-founded KKR in 1976 with Jerome Kohlberg Jr. and Henry Kravis and has been one of the firm's most senior partners since. He is widely credited with helping to structure some of the largest leveraged buy
Henry Kravis
1970s-2000s · KKR co-founder and buyout pioneer
Henry Kravis co-founded KKR in 1976 with George Roberts and Jerome Kohlberg Jr. and led the firm's investment decisions through its formative decades. He was a central figure in the 1980s leveraged-buyout boom and later
Jerome Kohlberg Jr.
1970s-2000s · KKR co-founder and early buyout partner
Jerome Kohlberg Jr. co-founded KKR in 1976 with George Roberts and Henry Kravis and was one of the firm's most senior partners during its formative years. He was involved in some of the largest leveraged buyouts of the 1
John Doerr
1980s-2000s · Venture investor and Google early backer
John Doerr is a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the world. He is best known for his early investment in Google in 1999, which became one of the most
Vinod Khosla
1980s-2000s · Venture investor and co-founder of Sun Microsystems
Vinod Khosla is a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and a senior partner at Khosla Ventures, one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the world. He has invested in a wide range of technology companies across sever
Bill Gross
1980s-2000s · Venture investor and Sequoia partner
Bill Gross is a senior partner at Sequoia Capital, one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the world. He has been involved in some of the most significant venture investments of the last two decades, including
James Coulter
1980s-2000s · KKR partner and early buyout operator
James Coulter was a senior partner at KKR during the firm's formative years and was involved in some of the largest leveraged buyouts of the 1980s and 1990s. He was known for his operational focus and his ability to work
John W. Thompson
1980s-2000s · KKR partner and early buyout operator
John W. Thompson was a senior partner at KKR during the firm's formative years and was involved in some of the largest leveraged buyouts of the 1980s and 1990s. He was known for his operational focus and his ability to w
Ben Rosen
1980s-2000s · Alden Capital founder and buyout pioneer
Ben Rosen is the founder of Alden Capital, one of the early buyout firms in the United States. He was involved in some of the largest leveraged buyouts of the 1980s and 1990s and was known for his operational focus and h
Sarah Weiss
1990s-2000s · Early female PE partner and KKR leader
Sarah Weiss was one of the early female partners at KKR and was involved in some of the firm's largest leveraged buyouts during the 1990s. She was known for her operational focus and her ability to work with portfolio-co
Peter Thiel
1990s-2000s · Venture investor and Palantir co-founder
Peter Thiel is a co-founder of Palantir Technologies and a senior partner at Founders Fund, one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the world. He is best known for his early investment in Facebook in 2004, whi
David Swenson
1980s-2000s · Yale endowment CIO and institutional PE allocation pioneer
David Swenson served as the chief investment officer of the Yale University endowment for over two decades and is widely credited with pioneering the modern approach to institutional investment in private assets. His wor
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