Paul Hewson, aka Bono of U2, rode the surging private equity wave during Bush's Guilded Age. Time said this of the rock star/philanthropist, when it named Bono 2005 Person of the Year:
Bono is a busy capitalist, (he’s a named partner in a $2 billion private equity firm)
That firm is Elevation Partners (EP), which lists Bono as Managing Director and co-founder. A look over Elevation's portfolio companies provides insight into Hewson's meeting with Peter Orszag. Affiliate MarketShare Partners boasts of its "econometric pedigree."
Peter Orszag loves econometrics, seeing it as a solution for clinical health care quality. Orszag's brother Jon works for economic consulting firm, Compass Lexecon. Jon is a member of the Econometric Society.
EP's MarketShare Partners boasts of Compass Agency Solutions. While the two firms aren't related, both utilize econometric models. Each Compass touts their healthcare expertise. How might the two Compasses benefit from Orszag's drive to econo-metricize health?
Expect econometric modeling to do for health care what it did for the financial world. Quants led incentivized executives to believe nothing could fail. What happens when incomplete models interact with pay for performance in health care? Likely, systemic health risk.
I have another private equity underwriter (PEU) to add to the Obama White House visitor list.
P.S. EP appears ready to monetize their investment in Palm, putting the portfolio company up for sale. Elevation also asked investors for more time to put $200 million to work.
Update 9-6-23: Elevation Partners website states:
In 2015, Bono (an Elevation Co-Founder and Managing Director) joined TPG Growth as a Special Partner. In 2016 Bono co-founded The Rise Fund, a global social impact fund which invests in seven sectors aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
