Henry R. Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman of KKR, joins Columbia Business School for a conversation on leadership, entrepreneurship, and the evolution of global private markets.
What Henry Kravis said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Henry Kravis discussed the founding of KKR, which will be 50 years old this coming Friday. He started the firm with George Roberts and Jerry Kohlberg, each putting up $10,000, $10,000, and $100,000 respectively, totaling $120,000. They aimed to raise a $25 million fund but were rejected by Bear Stearns. Henry Hillman offered to take half, but Prudential and MassMutual wanted to be the investment committee, which they refused. They estimated $500,000 to run KKR for a year and found eight individuals to put up $50,000 each for five years. They decided on a 20% carried interest. KKR now has 38 offices, 5,000 employees, and 45 products. Kravis emphasized the importance of humility, curiosity, and teamwork, and said arrogance kills. He advised new graduates to get into the workforce, not start another private equity fund, and consider buying a small company for a roll-up.
Key takeaways
KKR will be 50 years old this coming Friday, founded with $120,000 from Kravis, Roberts, and Kohlberg.
Kravis advises against starting a new private equity fund; instead, buy a small company and do a roll-up.
KKR now has 38 offices, 5,000 employees, and 45 products.
Kravis said arrogance kills and humility is key to KKR's culture.
1:13How do you know that it was worth taking a risk with personal investment?
13:02How do you keep that drive and optimism? Is it innate?
17:41Another thing: at KKR, there's a sign that says 'Arrogance kills.' Can you tell us about that sign and how ingrained it is in KKR culture?
51:13My question is, looking back on your career, what decisions have you made early on that really meaningfully shaped how you approach investing and leadership today?
53:29What advice and compelling opportunities do you see for new graduates to start their careers?
I am very excited to see so many familiar faces here, to meet one of the superstars at Columbia Business School, Henry Kravis, in this fireside chat on entrepreneurship. I'm Jorge Guzman, the Gantcher Associate Professor of Business. I research entrepreneurship and am the faculty co-director of the Lang Entrepreneurship Center. Mr. Kravis is a big benefactor to the school, a top entrepreneur in the finance industry, creating KKR, and a legend in the world of finance. Thank you for your time.
I'd like to start thinking about the entrepreneurial journey. One of the things we know about entrepreneurship is that it depends on that initial moment of taking a leap. When I was reading about how KKR started, you were doing a bet on a completely new idea, taking a risk by yourself and with others in your family. So take us back to that initial moment. How do you know that it was worth taking a risk with personal investment?
First of all, thank you all for your time. I think back, this coming Friday, KKR will be 50 years old. I started the firm with George Roberts, my first cousin, and Jerry Kohlberg. Jerry was 19 years older, and George and I were each 32, with three children each. I had no money; I put up $10,000 to start KKR. George did the same, and Jerry put up $100,000. So we started with $120,000. We had been doing what is now known as private equity, then called bootstrap acquisitions. We saw a real opportunity for alignment between management and owners, which was lacking in those days. We had the idea to align management and shareholders by having management put up real money. We aimed to raise a $25 million fund. We went to Bear Stearns, but they rejected us, so we resigned. We tried to raise the fund but couldn't on sensible terms. Henry Hillman, who funded Kleiner Perkins, offered to take half, but Prudential and MassMutual wanted to be the investment committee, which we refused. George Roberts and I then went to a steak restaurant and figured out how to get started. We estimated $500,000 to run KKR for a year and found eight individuals to put up $50,000 each for five years. They got to see every deal. We decided on a 20% carried interest, inspired by the oil and gas business's 'third for a quarter' model. Our first conversation was about dividing economics quickly, and the second about building a 'we' culture instead of 'my' culture. Fast-forward, KKR now has 38 offices, 5,000 employees, and 45 products, but the same culture of teamwork and participation remains.
That's fascinating. One of the things we teach is that the founder sets the organization. Your story shows optimism—you have to believe that if you can raise the money, luck will follow. Can you tell us more about the entrepreneur's personality? How do you keep that drive and optimism? Is it innate?
It's a great question. I think a lot of it is innate. If someone is afraid of taking risk and making a mistake, they won't be an entrepreneur. You've got to be prepared to fail and pick yourself up. George and I felt that way. A friend asked if I was prepared to fail, and I said yes. He advised not to keep one foot on the dock and one in the boat—commit fully. I said I love the business and trust in Jerry and George was key. Trust is tantamount. You have to be prepared to take risk, and risk varies by investment type.
Well, you got to. That's part of investing. Each kind of investing has different risk—debt, venture capital, infrastructure. There's no one-size-fits-all risk; it's what is the risk for the opportunity.
This sign is behind my desk. My former assistant had it made after hearing me say it so many times. Arrogance kills—I've seen arrogant people blow up. KKR doesn't have arrogant people; humility is key. Being humble is a sign of what we're about. Curiosity is essential: unless you're curious, you can't be a great investor. Too many people are narrow in thinking. You've got to see the whole landscape, not just one spot. For example, from my office window, I want you to say you see nothing but opportunity. Curiosity is the number one thing for successful investing.
Kravis, H. (2026, June 17). A Conversation with Henry R. Kravis, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Chairman, KKR [Interview transcript]. Columbia Business School. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/995962/
MLA
Henry Kravis. "A Conversation with Henry R. Kravis, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Chairman, KKR." Columbia Business School, 17 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/995962/.
BibTeX
@misc{kravis2026_995962,
author = {Henry Kravis},
title = {A Conversation with Henry R. Kravis, Co-Founder \& Co-Executive Chairman, KKR},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Columbia Business School. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/995962/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
