The New Tycoons

Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything

By: Jason Kelly

Narrated by: Brett Barry

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

What do Dunkin' Donuts, J. Crew, Toys "R" Us, and Burger King have in common? They are all currently or just recently were owned, operated, and controlled by private equity firms. 

The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything takes the listener behind the scenes of these firms: their famous billionaire founders, the overlapping stories of their creation and evolution, and the outsized ambitions that led a group of clever bankers from small shops operating in a corner of Wall Street into powerhouse titans of capital. This is the story of the money and the men who handle it. 

Go inside the private worlds of founders Henry Kravis, Steve Schwarzman, David Bonderman, and more in The New Tycoons, and discover how these men have transformed the industry and built the some of the most powerful and most secretive houses of money in the world. 

• With numerous private equity firms going public for the first time, learn how these firms operate, where their money comes from and where it goes, and how every day millions of customers, employees, and retirees play a role in that complex tangle of money 
• Author Jason Kelly tells the story of how 30 some years ago a group of colleagues with $120,000 of their own savings founded what would become one of the largest private equity shops in the world, completing the biggest buyout the world has ever seen, and making them all billionaires in the process 
• Presents a never-before-seen look inside a secretive and powerful world on the verge of complete transformation as the industry and its leaders gain public profiles, scrutiny, and political positions 

Analyzing the founders and the firms at a crucial moment, when they've elevated themselves beyond their already lofty ambitions into the world of public opinion and valuation, New Tycoons looks at one of the most important, yet least examined, trillion-dollar corners of the global economy and what it portends for these new tycoons.

©2012 Jason Kelly (P)2012 Gildan Media

Detailed if a little dull

Kelly handles most of the major private equity players in depth, but strays into excessive biographies on the founders and executives, without straining to always keep it interesting. Also, for a 2020 release, the book doesn't really get much further than 2012/13, so it feels strangely dated.

a good insight in to the private equity business.

this describes the private equity business up to 2014 and the companies and people in it. it is very insightful but a little dated. I would like to find a follow on book to bring it current. overall a good book.

A lesson about Private Equity

Interesting lesson about who the big players are in private equity and challenges of private versus public companies