They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.) 

 

• SOURCES:
  • Brendan Ballou, C.E.O. of the Public Integrity Project.
  • Dan Glickberg, venture-capital investor.
  • Hannah Howard, food writer.
  • Sachin Khajuria, investor.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America, by Brendan Ballou (2023).
  • Two and Twenty: How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win, by Sachin Khajuria (2022).
  • “Local Journalism under Private Equity Ownership,” by Michael Ewens, Arpit Gupta, and Sabrina T. Howell (NBER Working Paper, 2022).
  • “Owner Incentives and Performance in Healthcare: Private Equity Investment in Nursing Homes,” by Atul Gupta, Sabrina T. Howell, Constantine Yannelis, and Abhinav Gupta (NBER Working Paper, 2021).
  • “Leveraged Buyouts and Financial Distress,” by Brian Ayash and Mahdi Rastad (Finance Research Letters, 2021).

 

• EXTRAS:
  • “Is This What a ‘Good Billionaire’ Looks Like?” by Freakonomics Radio (2026).
  • “Is the Public Ready for Private Equity?” by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • “Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • “Do You Know Who Owns Your Vet?” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • “The Secret Life of a C.E.O.,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2018).

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