subject: Introduction To Henry Kravis: Co-founder Of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. [print this page] Henry Kravis is the co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. He is married to economist Marie-Josee Kravis. In the 1970s Kravis pioneered the buyout business, and he has continued to be a leader for the last three decades.
During his teenage years Kravis did not show much scholarly aptitude. He spent a year at a tony prep school in Connecticut before heading to Claremont McKenna in California. His freshman year was largely wasted in non-academic pursuits, but by senior year he had earned a position at the Columbia Business School. Thanks to the intervention of cousin George Roberts, Kravis eventually ended up at Bear Stearns. The two learned leveraged buyouts from Jerome Kohlberg, and four years later formed Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, one of the first leveraged buyout businesses.
In the 1980s KKR made its names through a few mega-deals. The firm orchestrated the $8 billion buyout of Beatrice Foods in 1986 and the 1989 hostile takeover of RJR Nabisco worth $31 billion. The result was that Kravis became one of the most prominent financiers around. The 90s resulted in a mixed bag of results, with several resulting in significant financial gain and just as many ending up as notable losers. Three decades later KKR is still at the top in private equity circles despite other big buyout firms emerging.
In 2006-7 KKR seized controlling stakes in half a dozen companies, resulting in the toppling of the record Nabisco deal. However it was Kravis who broke the record, orchestrating the $33 billion HCA deal in 2006 and the $45 billion buyout of TXU.
KKR stopped the rapid deal making in late 2007 as the credit market started to crash, and the mortgage meltdown prevented the companys plans to go public. The credit crisis hurt an affiliated fund with mortgage-related securities, KKR Financial, and in 2008 Kravis sold off the controlling stake.
According to Forbes Kravis is the 49th richest man in America, worth about $6.5 billion.
Both Kravis and Roberts are now in their 60s, and many are concerned with who will succeed them. Potential contenders Johannes Huth, Marc Lipschultz, Fred Goltz, Scott Nuttall, and David Sorkin, all who have played important roles in the company.
He has donated over $25 million to Mount Sinai Hospital where he serves as a member of the board. He also has made contributions to the Columbia Business School, the Metropolitan Museum, and two galleries at MoMA. Kravis is also a reliable donor for the Republican Party, raising money for George Bushs campaigns and acting as New York State fundraising co-chair for John McCain.
In his off hours Kravis is a diehard golfer, hitting the course on a weekly basis. He also collects art, though in later years his tastes have changed from impressionist to contemporary.
