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Plunder
- Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
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Publisher's summary
The authoritative exposé of private equity: what it is, how it kills businesses and jobs, how the government helps, and how we stop it
Private equity surrounds us. Firms like Blackstone, Carlyle, and KKR are among the largest employers in America and hold assets that rival those of small countries. Yet few understand what these firms are or how they work.
In Plunder, Brendan Ballou explains how private equity has reshaped American business by raising prices, reducing quality, cutting jobs, and shifting resources from productive to unproductive parts of the economy. Ballou vividly illustrates how many private equity firms buy up retailers, medical practices, prison services, nursing-home chains, and mobile-home parks, among other businesses, using little of their own money to do it and avoiding debt and liability for their actions. Forced to take on huge debts and pay extractive fees, companies purchased by private equity firms are often left bankrupt, or shells of their former selves, with consequences to communities that long depended on them.
Perhaps most startling is Ballou’s insight into how this is happening with the active support of various arms of the government. But, as Ballou reveals in an agenda for reigning in the industry, private equity can be stopped from wreaking further havoc.
Critic reviews
—Jesse Eisinger, ProPublica, author of The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives
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Story
These Are the Plunderers traces the thirty-year history of corporate takeovers in America and private equity’s increasing dominance. Morgenson and Rosner investigate some of the biggest names in private equity, exposing how they buy companies, load them with debt, and then bleed them of assets and profits. All while prosecutors and regulators stand idly by.
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Lacks credibility and fact checking
- By Sam Smith on 05-25-23
By: Gretchen Morgenson, and others
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The Hidden Trillion Dollar Industry of Private Equity
- Everything You Need to Know, from Funds to Deals to Real Estate
- By: Maddox Metzger
- Narrated by: Michael A. Goldsmith
- Length: 4 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Welcome to the trillion-dollar world of private equity. What started as a $70,000 investment in 1957 has ballooned into one of the largest industries on Earth, and it’s just the beginning…
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I started on my journey.
- By Archie Clarke on 06-22-23
By: Maddox Metzger
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The Private Equity Playbook
- Management's Guide to Working with Private Equity
- By: Adam Coffey
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Private equity firms are on the rise and rapidly changing the game. Today, more than 5,500 PE firms own tens of thousands of companies, so it is essential for CEOs and senior management executives to understand exactly how private equity firms operate. This invaluable resource can help you devise a winning PE game plan for your own company that offers you greater freedom and financial success.
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Beyond basic
- By M on 05-15-20
By: Adam Coffey
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The New Tycoons
- Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything
- By: Jason Kelly
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything takes the listener behind the scenes of these firms: their famous billionaire founders, the overlapping stories of their creation and evolution, and the outsized ambitions that led a group of clever bankers from small shops operating in a corner of Wall Street into powerhouse titans of capital. This is the story of the money and the men who handle it.
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Detailed if a little dull
- By Anonymous User on 03-11-21
By: Jason Kelly
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Two and Twenty
- How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win
- By: Sachin Khajuria
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Private equity has succeeded in near-stealth—until now. In Two and Twenty, Sachin Khajuria, a former partner at Apollo, gives readers an unprecedented view inside this opaque global economic engine, which plays a vital role underpinning our retirement systems. From illuminating the rituals of firms’ all-powerful investment committees to exploring key precepts (“think like a principal, not an advisor”), Khajuria brings the traits, culture, and temperament of the industry’s leading practitioners to life through a series of vivid and unvarnished deal sketches.
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Very little substance
- By Garrett S on 02-01-24
By: Sachin Khajuria
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Private Equity
- A Memoir
- By: Carrie Sun
- Narrated by: Carrie Sun
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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When we meet Carrie Sun, she can’t shake the feeling that she’s wasting her life. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Carrie excelled in school, graduated early from MIT, and climbed the corporate ladder, all in pursuit of the American dream. But at twenty-nine, she’s left her analyst job, dropped out of an MBA program, and is trapped in an unhappy engagement. So when she gets the rare opportunity to work at one of the most prestigious hedge funds in the world, she knows she can’t say no. Fourteen interviews later, she’s in.
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Thought it would be more about PE Firm Carbon
- By Amazon Customer on 03-26-24
By: Carrie Sun
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King of Capital
- The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone
- By: John E. Morris, David Carey
- Narrated by: George K. Wilson
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The financial establishment---banks and investment bankers, such as Citigroup, Bear Stearns, Lehman, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley---were the cowboys, recklessly assuming risks, leveraging up to astronomical levels, and driving the economy to the brink of disaster.
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Great Story Ruined by Monotone Reading
- By Marc on 04-23-13
By: John E. Morris, and others
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Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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A number-one New York Times best seller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date 20 years after the famed deal.
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Timeless.
- By Jeremy Repanich on 07-22-23
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
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When McKinsey Comes to Town
- The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm
- By: Walt Bogdanich, Michael Forsythe
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In When McKinsey Comes to Town, two prizewinning investigative journalists have written a portrait of the company sharply at odds with its public image. Bogdanich and Forsythe have penetrated the veil of secrecy surrounding McKinsey by conducting hundreds of interviews, obtaining tens of thousands of revelatory documents, and following rule #1 of investigative reporting: Follow the money. When McKinsey Comes to Town is a a devastating portrait of a firm whose work has often made the world more unequal, more corrupt, and more dangerous.
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Shows systemic problems in McKinsey's culture
- By GA on 10-15-22
By: Walt Bogdanich, and others
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The Masters of Private Equity and Venture Capital
- Management Lessons from the Pioneers of Private Investing
- By: Robert Finkel, David Greising
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Masters of Private Equity and Venture Capital, the pioneers of the industry share the investing and management wisdom they have gained by investing in and transforming their portfolio companies. Based on original interviews conducted by the authors, this book is filled with colorful stories on the subjects that most matter to the high-level investor, such as selecting and working with management, pioneering new markets, adding value through operational improvements, applying private equity principles to non-profits, and much more.
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The 2nd 5 hours is awesome VC history
- By Jose on 04-10-22
By: Robert Finkel, and others
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The Fund
- Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend
- By: Rob Copeland
- Narrated by: Rob Copeland, Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Ray Dalio does not want you to listen to this audiobook. Late last year, when the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet, announced that he was stepping down from the company he started out of his apartment nearly 50 years ago, the news made headlines around the world. Dalio cultivated an aura of international admiration and fame thanks to his company’s eye-popping success, coupled with a mystique he encouraged with frequent media appearances, celebrity hobnobbing, and his bestselling book, Principles.
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Best finance book I've read in years
- By Aaron on 12-16-23
By: Rob Copeland
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Seven Crashes
- The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization
- By: Harold James
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The eminent economic historian Harold James presents a new perspective on financial crises, dividing them into "good" crises, which ultimately expand markets and globalization, and "bad" crises, which result in a smaller, less prosperous world. Examining seven turning points in financial history—from the depression of the 1840s through the Great Depression of the 1930s to the COVID-19 crisis—James shows how crashes prompted by a lack of supply, like the oil shortages of the 1970s, lead to greater globalization as markets expand and producers innovate to increase supply.
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impossible to follow
- By John Keefe on 02-09-24
By: Harold James
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The Myth of Private Equity
- An Inside Look at Wall Street’s Transformative Investments
- By: Jeffrey C. Hooke
- Narrated by: Asa Siegel
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Once an obscure niche of the investment world, private equity has grown into a juggernaut, with consequences for a wide range of industries as well as the financial markets. The Myth of Private Equity is a hard-hitting and meticulous exposé from an insider's viewpoint. Jeffrey C. Hooke examines the negative effects of private equity and the ways in which it has avoided scrutiny. He unravels the exaggerations the industry has spun to its customers and the business media, showing the stark realities that are concealed by the funds' self-mythologizing and penchant for secrecy.
By: Jeffrey C. Hooke
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Mastering Private Equity
- Transformation via Venture Capital, Minority Investments and Buyouts
- By: Claudia Zeisberger, Michael Prahl, Bowen White
- Narrated by: Nick Gallagher
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Mastering Private Equity was written with a professional audience in mind and provides a valuable and unique reference for investors, finance professionals, students, and business owners looking to engage with private equity firms or invest in private equity funds. From deal sourcing to exit, LBOs to responsible investing, operational value creation to risk management, the book systematically distils the essence of private equity into core concepts and explains in detail the dynamics of venture capital, growth equity and buyout transactions.
By: Claudia Zeisberger, and others
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Reckless Endangerment
- How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon
- By: Gretchen Morgenson, Joshua Rosner
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson, the star business columnist of The New York Times, exposes how the watchdogs who were supposed to protect the country from financial harm were actually complicit in the actions that finally blew up the American economy.
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Required reading
- By David on 10-24-11
By: Gretchen Morgenson, and others
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Lessons from the Edge
- A Memoir
- By: Marie Yovanovitch
- Narrated by: Marie Yovanovitch
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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By the time she became US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch had seen her share of corruption, instability, and tragedy in developing countries. But it came as a shock when, in early 2019, she was recalled from her post after a smear campaign by President Trump’s personal attorney and his associates—men operating outside of normal governmental channels, and apparently motivated by personal gain. Her courageous participation in the subsequent impeachment inquiry earned Yovanovitch the nation’s respect, and her dignified response to the president’s attacks won our hearts.
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Heroic patriot's amazing story
- By Victoria Eriksson on 03-19-22
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Mergers & Acquisitions from A to Z, Fourth Edition
- By: Andrew J. Sherman
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 10,000 mergers and acquisitions occur annually in the US, many among small and mid-sized companies. These complex transactions can be an effective growth strategy, but they carry significant risk. Mergers and Acquisitions from A to Z helps guard against costly mistakes. Expert advice, case studies, checklists, and sample documents walk you through every step of the process - from valuation to securities laws to closing and successful integration.
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Great information with details
- By Luis on 07-18-18
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The Man Who Broke Capitalism
- How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America—and How to Undo His Legacy
- By: David Gelles
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1981, Jack Welch took over General Electric and quickly rose to fame as the first celebrity CEO. He golfed with presidents, mingled with movie stars, and was idolized for growing GE into the most valuable company in the world. But Welch’s achievements didn’t stem from some greater intelligence or business prowess. Rather, they were the result of a sustained effort to push GE’s stock price ever higher, often at the expense of workers, consumers, and innovation.
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OnlyPart of the Whole Story
- By teekay on 09-29-22
By: David Gelles
What listeners say about Plunder
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Miropress
- 06-22-23
From Maxed Out to PE - where are we heading?
I have been training corporate bankers in risk analysis for over a quarter of a century. After the subprime crisis, I started saying that the next crisis would be caused by PE funds, although I did not predict the extent to which they would game the system. The bubble will eventually burst, as the processes described are not sustainable. It just makes me angry that those excesses destroy free market economy.
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- V. M. Ranjan
- 02-28-24
This is an Insightful book
This is a great book from a knowledgeable source. Worth a listen to better understand the radical transformation of the finance industry over the past 15 years.
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- marwalk
- 06-17-23
Be prepared to be angry
Be prepared to be angry when you read this book. Many people are already aware that private equity companies are financial vultures and corporate cannibals. In this book Brendan Ballou draws the curtain back from the insatiable lust for financial gain of private equity firm operators, while being impervious to the devastation and literal death they cause. They accomplish this through a deliberate strategy of preying on constituencies who are least able to defend themselves. The extreme profits made from these activities provides an irresistible incentive for persons so inclined to engage in these tactics—the inhumanity of these individuals is rarely made public.
Ballou documents the repeated practice of purchasing a company (with someone else's money), selling off its property for an quick profit, and then charging that company to lease back the property it once owned as well as pay exorbitant fees for the privilege of being owned by the private equity company. This emphasis on extraction above all else causes layoffs and poor service to customers, as well as often poor return to investors. Another, different and especially egregious, example is private equity operation of prison phone systems. In addition to excessive call charges to prisoners who cannot afford them, the law enforcement jurisdictions responsible for the prisons themselves receive some of the profits—a practice that walks and quacks like a blatant conflict of interest. Further examples of private equity short term profit extraction are similarly documented for nursing homes, hospitals, rental properties, and retail chains. Suing these companies is like chasing shape shifting phantoms that do tangible damage, while obscuring themselves from accountability.
The uncanny alliance between politicians, courts, and regulators in turning a blind eye and their even assisting this plunder of employees, customers, prisoners, and investors is difficult to fathom—until their political campaign contributions and intense lobbying are taken into account. Government officials at all levels are susceptible to influence, coercion, and co-opting by private equity operators, who expend significant funds on influence to provide favorable conditions for destructive private equity practices. At this stage, most of the government is captured at some level by these influences—yes, mainly through Republicans, although the Democrats being in power by itself does not ensure a clean slate. It's strangely axiomatic that the amount of campaign money a candidate amasses often determines the differences between being elected and defeated—and it's equally perplexing why the voting public is influenced by political ads to this unconscionable extent.
There are recourses available for stopping these cruel practices, which Ballou enumerates at the end of the book—if you read nothing else, read that part. Due to their outsized influence on government legislatures, administrations, and courts, the most reliable approach to rein in private equity excesses appears to be to kick them in the profits. Once these destructive behaviors are seen to be unprofitable, the bleeding from everyone else will at least be stanched—we should support effective efforts to apply the pressure now.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Robert Pratt
- 05-06-23
Great topic and great detail
Many compelling stories of the macro economic and even personal harms of the rise of private equity. Though I share much of the author's critique and policy interests, I wish the book had more high level political and economic context. There's plenty of history, to be sure, but it seems aimed at gotchas about the voting records of specific politicians rather than discussing the sometimes very reasonable choices the American electorate and leaders made that had unintended side effects. Here, we get the side effects without the counterweight of many of the positive primary effects of policy initiatives. Still a good read on an issue of rapidly growing importance.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Devin
- 05-10-23
Excellent
The only way it could be better is by spending more time of the standard counter arguments. For the Kool-aid drinkers in the industry, exhaustive examples will never be enough.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-25-23
Good but unbalanced
As someone who is not knowledgeable about the topic, this book taught me lots. That said I can’t say how biased the author is.
The low star reviews claim that the author is biased, inexperienced, and or misleading. Though with audible there is no info on reviewers, so I can’t say they are credible.
I really did get a lot from this book, after all before reading I had no idea what Private equity was or what PE firms did. The author does rag very hard on the companies, but doesn’t say that they shouldn’t exist, just that they need badly regulation.
This book may be unbalanced, as it doesn’t mention many redeeming aspects of PE, but I would say that’s for a purpose. This book is a rallying cry to educate people on PE and to make changes to the law to limit them.
My favorite parts of this book were those that mention PE’s grip on the US government.
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- jennys
- 10-17-23
Informative and Frustrating
This is an excellent explanation of Private Equity. The author does a good job of "piercing the corporate veil" in explaining how Private Equity has harmed average American people. It's very frustrating how greedy these corporations are. The upside is we are given some ideas on how to combat the worst of PE offenses. I highly recommend you educate yourself by consuming the information in this book.
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- Consumer Expert!
- 07-09-23
Eye opening!!
If you want to stay ignorant then skip, if not put that credit to good use.
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- Honest Reviewer
- 08-10-23
Interesting but a bit biased
Focuses almost entirely on the negative side of private equity with almost none of the benefits provided by the industry. A more balanced treatment would have been better
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- Becky Lea
- 11-11-23
Makes you angry!
Important, far reaching topic that is not being examined or talked about enough. Good job exposing this topic that can impact all of us!
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