The private equity love continues in America's billionaire bailout. Open Secrets reported:
Top lawmakers from both sides of the aisle seem to agree on one thing — small businesses backed by private equity and venture capital investment firms should be able to tap into the aid.Private equity lobbying group American Investment Council changed its name from Private Equity Growth Capital Council (PEGCC). They did not take my recommendation of Private Equity Capital Knowledge Executed Responsibly (PECKER) as a better fit for the greed and leverage boys.
Congressional leaders continue to negotiate another round of $250 billion in aid to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus.
Small businesses and startups with fewer than 500 employees but controlled by large parent companies including private-equity firms are not currently eligible to get loans under the program. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — hailing from California and catering to Silicon Valley constituents — want to change the rules to extend support to them.
Private equity underwriters (PEU) are behind big lobbying money and political contributions.
Blackstone Group, which is lobbying for small business loan eligibility, has given over $17 million in contributions. Their CEO, megadonor Stephen Schwarzmann gave $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and $2.5 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund in the 2020 election cycle. Schwarzmann is a trusted adviser to President Donald Trump and gave $3 million to Trump’s super PAC in January.
Carlyle Group has contributed nearly $1.6 million to candidates, giving to candidates from both sides of the aisle including McCarthy and Pelosi. And Apollo Global Management reportedly loaned Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner’s real estate firm $184 million.
Had private equity used their capital knowledge to invest responsibly they wouldn't be asking Uncle Sam for a bailout, not while they sit on $1.5 trillion in dry powder. Politicians continue serving big donors to the detriment of citizens.
Update 4-25-20 Former Carlyle Managing Director David Marchick is Director of the Center for Presidential Transition. His job is to ensure politicians Red and Blue continue to love PEU..
Update 4-20-20: Carlyle plans to raise $3.5 billion for a new credit opportunities fund. How will they find discounted debt to buy that hasn't been propped up by Fed Chief and former Carlyle employee Jay Powell?
Update 11-27-21: Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner plans to launch Affinity Partners using international money. Middle East contacts are lukewarm on Kushner's offering despite his solving regional conflict in that part of the globe.
Update 11-28-21: The Saudi Public Investment Fund may be ready to put big money into Jared Kushner's planned PEU, Affinity Partners. Kushner's father in law Donald Trump gave the Saudi Crown Prince a free pass after the Kingdom executed Western journalist Jamal Khoshoggi.
Update 12-23-21: Kushner's Affinity Partners is at $3 billion and growing. It plans to invest in U.S. and Israeli companies seeking to grow to India, Africa, the Middle East and other parts of Asia. The money is from international investors.
Update 1-20-22: Kushner's Affinity Partners hired a number of Red Team members of the Trump White House as well as some PEUs to manage the investment side. Red Team PEU love!
Update 4-11-22: The Saudi Public Investment Fund, controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, invested $2 billion in Jared Kushner's new private equity firm six months after Kushner left the White House despite the screening committee's voting unanimously against investing in Kushner's fledging Affinity Fund, citing the "inexperience" of its management, an asset management fee that "seems excessive," and the fact that due diligence found the firm's operations "unsatisfactory in all aspects."
Update 6-14-22: Former PEU with Pegasus Capital, now White House Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy wants social media to crackdown on people opposing green energy.
Update 7-16-22: American University and just hired former Carlyle Group Managing Director David Marchick as Dean of AU's business school.
Update 3-31-23: Kushner's Affinity Partners received $200 million each from a Qatar and UAE sovereign wealth fund. That's on top of the $2 billion from the Saudi PIF.
