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

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. In King of Capital, David Carey and John E. Morris show how Blackstone (and other private equity firms) transformed themselves from gamblers, hostile-takeover artists, and "barbarians at the gate" into disciplined, risk-conscious investors. This is the greatest untold success story on Wall Street. Not only have Blackstone and a small coterie of competitors wrested control of corporations around the globe, but they have emerged as a major force on Wall Street, challenging the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for dominance. And since it is sitting on billions of dollars that can be invested at a time when the market is starved for capital, Blackstone is now ready to break out once again.

Insightful and hard-hitting, King of Capital is filled with never-before-revealed details about the workings of a heretofore secretive company that was the personal fiefdom of Steve Schwarzman and Peter Peterson. A great human interest story, as well, it tells how Blackstone went from two guys and a secretary to being one of Wall Street's most powerful institutions---far outgrowing its much older rival KKR---and how Schwarzman, with a pay packet one year of $398 million and $684 million from the Blackstone IPO, came to epitomize the spectacular new financial fortunes amassed in the 2000s.

©2010 David Carey and John E. Morris (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[ King of Capital] ranks as one of the most even-handed treatments of the industry." ( Bloomberg Brief: Merger)

Great inside look at PE life

Enjoyed the inside stories and the variety of content in each chapter. The reader was good as well.

Fair and informative

This was exactly what I was hoping: a solid and well researched history of the company and industry with enough details to make it informative but without an excess of unexplained jargon.

How the World works

Wether you like it or not this is the story of how our world is organized.

Understanding this makes a lot of what you see every day make sense.

Schooled

Learned a lot in regards to Private Equity! Clarified questions in regards to the industry! Lengthy, and you will be using the 30 second loop button.

Informative, crisp, a no-frills ride

I like this better than I expected to. I got a lot of comprehension about this intensive modern capitalist business. The opening obligatory and silly description of Schwarzman's luridly crassly materialistic showy 60th birthday party is quickly finished and we get down to crisp deal points, what worked and what didn't, across the history of the firm and players up through this publication date. There is enough overview to get a good feel for the kinds of deal and finance structures and competition that were there, and we get enough color and history about the personalities (meaning not too much). There are subtexts about organization governance, booms and recessions, and recent evolution of capitalism itself, woven seamlessly in and out of the individual stories of the deals. The effects of big recent historical events on this business (dot com bust, 9/11, 2007-2008, etc.) was a pleasing constant as it moved along. And yes, that lurid birthday party did turn out to be material, as it attracted lots of political heat in the run-up to Blackstone's IPO that generated a lot of distraction. The narrator is clear enough and even enough in tempo but moves slowly like some sleepy old guy driving constantly 10 miles below the speed limit. A quick switch to fast speed on my device made it move along nicely. I plan to study more in this area, which is the best endorsement I can give. But if you are looking for entertainment, "business lite," this probably isn't your pick.

Too much deal review

Overall a good overview of private equity, specifically the history of Blackstone.

However, this book is a few hours too long due to unnecessary review of deals, buyout values, and other M&A commentary. It feels like it lacks anecdotes of what the people were doing. I get it's necessary to review some deals and buyout values in a book about private equity, but this seemed like overkill and made the book a little dull.

Can't make it through

Would you try another book from John E. Morris and David Carey and/or George K. Wilson?

I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to have the reader for this book, but it was an incredibly bad idea. This will an audible first for me, but I've decided to not continue wit this book because I just can't follow the reader. He speaks in an incredibly slow cadence like he's telling some kind of fairy tale. He should not be narrating business books.

Very complete story of Blackstone vs. rest of PE

If you could sum up King of Capital in three words, what would they be?

Inside private equity

What did you like best about this story?

The details about how many of the deals were structured and the thought processes behind them.

What about George K. Wilson’s performance did you like?

Indifferent to Wilson's performance, but I can say that I listened to it on 1.5x and I have no complaints on his style.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

A great read for anyone who wants to learn more about Schwarzman, Blackstone, and private equity in general.

Private Equity 101

This book not only paints a good portrait of the rise of Blackstone as a company but also sheds light on the often misunderstood realm of Private Equity.

Great Story Ruined by Monotone Reading

What did you like best about King of Capital? What did you like least?

I think the story of Blackstone and more broadly LBOs and the evolution of finance is a great story and very interesting. The writing itself is crisp but sometimes veers off.

The largest issue I have with this is the narration. While the narrator is talented, I think he is ill equipped for this kind of book. He has a monotone voice that drones along from development to development. I find it so bad that it is difficult to get through the book.

What did you like best about this story?

The subject matter and the perspective.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of George K. Wilson?

Anyone.

Do you think King of Capital needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No I think it does a fine job of covering the subject thus far.