THE RISE OF PIRATE EQUITY: and the Fall of American Business

Not all private equity people are evil. Only some. Paul Krugman

The industry is a sizable and growing financial player in the U.S. economy. Yet, it is largely unregulated. It is famous for loading companies with excessive amounts of debt, for selling off the real estate of companies it acquires, for its lack of transparency about fees it collects or the performance of the companies it owns, and fiercely protective of tax loopholes that allow PE partners to line their pockets with billions that should have gone to the Treasury. Eileen Applebaum, before the Senate Banking Committee.

I’ve heard that one-half of the students at elite schools want to go into private equity or hedge funds. They want to keep up with their age cohorts at Goldman. This can’t possibly end well… Charlie Munger

In one of the truly epic films of recent years (amazing sea battles, plus social commentary, not to mention Russel Crowe) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_and_Commander:_The_Far_Side_of_the_World), a conversation among the lowly tars includes an explanation of the difference between pirates and the French “privateers” they are pursuing into the Pacific Ocean:

“If they were pirates we could hang em, when we catch em”.