Henry Kravis. The name seems to conjure images of great wealth, mammoth deals, and the Gordon Gekko-esque excesses of the go-go 80’s. With good reason – ever since he left Bear Sterns to do “bootstraps” with his cousin George Roberts and their mentor Jerome Kohlberg, Kravis has essentially changed the landscape of finance, pioneering a sector called private equity and making “LBO” a near-household term during his peak.
In this video, Bloomberg takes a look at the man’s career, from his days “bootstrapping” at Bear, through his “barbarian” era fighting for RJR Nabisco, all the way to KKR’s surprise IPO. It’s good, check it out.
Photo: World Economic Forum