Winchester Star reported on a visit by former Carlyle Group co-CEO Glenn Youngkin, looking to garner the Republican gubernatorial nomination:
“I have a 30-year business career that has real-world experience that is so different from any Republican, any Democrat,” Youngkin said. “It’s prepared me in a way on how to understand how to get things done in a complicated, big organization. How to deliver as opposed to making empty promises. How to set expectations and hold people accountable, including myself."
Glenn Youngkin attended the World Economic Forum as Carlyle's co-CEO. Interviewer Andy Serwer asked Youngkin about Taylor Swift's plea to Carlyle to help her buy the rights to her music owned by Carlyle affliate Ithaca Holdings. Here's Youngkin's answer:
I think we all appreciate what a spectacular musician Taylor Swift is. To disappoint you I can't give you an update. But I do think that it does represent, I think a focus that private equity is getting today. And I think that focus is the result of the fact that we haven't done a great job of helping everyone understand really what we do and the full nature of the economic contribution that we make. And I think that's one thing our industry needs to do better.
Facts say Taylor Swift's music was sold to Carlyle backed Ithaca without her knowledge or opportunity to buy those rights. Ithaca then sold those rights to Shamrock Holdings without Swift's knowledge. Despite her pleas to The Carlyle Group Swift was not given the opportunity to buy the rights to the music she created. In his defense of private equity underwriters (PEU) Youngkin said:
"We invest in companies to make them better, not to hurt them We invest in projects to make them better, not to hurt them."
How did buying and selling the rights to Taylor Swift's music without her knowledge make that music better? The one record Ithaca released of Swift's old music bombed without the artist's support.
Taylor Swift believes she was hurt by Carlyle backed Ithaca. There is no evidence co-CEO Glenn Youngkin did anything to give the artist a shot at buying back her creations.
Virginia voters may not care about Taylor Swift's music, but they should care about fairness.
