bloggingbuyouts

The New York Times is reporting today that a group of protesters will be demonstrating outside of Henry Kravis's 28-room apartment on Park Avenue today. The demonstration will have a holiday feel, complete with carols and ringing bells. A movie with the jolly title of "The War on Greed, Starring the Homes of Henry Kravis" will be shown on sandwich boards worn by protesters. The film is apparently a satirical look at Kravis's many homes and opulent lifestyle, with a comparison to the more modest homes and lifestyles of ordinary American workers.

Kravis is one of the founders of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts or KKR, one of the older buyout firms. Starting 30 years ago, KKR pioneered the use of leveraged buyouts and has now done over 160 deals. KKR manages $53.4 billion and has offices in New York, Menlo Park, San Francisco, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Some of its notable achievements include the first leveraged buyout in excess of $1 billion and the largest buyouts ever in the Netherlands, Denmark, India, Australia, Singapore and France.

The protesters are focused on the lower tax rate payed by partners in private equity firms, as well as the general excess of extreme wealth in the U.S. You can see the protesters movie at warongreed.org.