Whether we are aware of it or not, private equity, which employs 8.1 million people through private-equity owned companies, and manages about $3 trillion of assets in all types of funds, according to Bloomberg data, is playing a larger and larger role in all of our lives.
Companies like Toys "R" Us, The Weather Channel, Madam Tussaud's, Dunkin' Donuts, J. Crew, and Outback Steakhouse are all backed by private equity investments.
As the industry comes under increasing scrutiny by the media, and the global economy remains precarious, investors are becoming more demanding about getting information before investing in private equity companies, or in deals involving private equity.
"The old days of quietly conducting this very lucrative business are long gone," said author Jason Kelly, a business writer for Bloomberg in an interview with another Bloomberg writer Tom Taulli last month. The occasion was the publication of Kelly's book (also by Bloomberg), "The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything."
"The New Tycoons" offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the lives of the men who founded the industry's biggest firms, such as KKR & Co., the Carlyle Group, and Blackstone, and shows "how they have taken on a central role in all of our lives as investors, owners and employers."
Writer David Merkel said in his review posted on the website Seeking Alpha, "Jason Kelly gives us a neutral view of what is going on in private equity," noting that while private equity companies have cleverly used the tax laws to pay minimal taxes, "Indeed, in many cases, jobs have been preserved or created through private ownership of firms. Many firms might have died without private equity restructuring the company, leading to the loss of all jobs."
Another reader commented on Amazon, "The access that the author had to these organizations is seldom afforded others. Everyone should read this book..." she writes, adding that the characters read like those in a novel.
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