KKR chiefs split $327m payday for bumper year
THE LEADERS of Wall Street giant KKR earned more than $160m (£96m) each last year, dwarfing the pay packets of most banking chief executives.
Henry Kravis and George Roberts, who co-founded the firm along with Jerome Kohlberg in 1976, made $161.4m and $165.5m respectively – a bumper total of $326.9m – from dividend payments and payouts tied to the performance of its private equity funds, according to a regulatory filing.
The huge sums are nearly 18 per cent higher than their pay last year, and the largest since KKR became a listed company in 2010.
The windfall is about eight times greater than the payouts received by banking chiefs, with JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon picking up $20m and Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein receiving $23m last year in comparison.
The filing shows both men were paid a salary of $300,000 last year with a further $43.3m earned each through carried interest, which is the cut of profits the firm makes from funds.
The rest was made up in dividends, with Kravis collecting $117.2m and Roberts getting $121.4m, and expenses.
KKR enjoyed a bumper year in 2013, with profits rising 23 per cent rise and a big dividend hike.
Most of the money made by the men is normally reinvested back into KKR’s host of buyout funds.