George R. Roberts
| George R. Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1944 (age 72–73) |
| Residence | Atherton, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater |
Claremont McKenna College University of California, Hastings College of the Law |
| Occupation | Co-founder, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts |
| Net worth |
 $5.1 billion (March 2015)
|
| Spouse(s) | Leanne Bovet (1968–2003) Linnea Conrad (2010–present) |
| Children | 3 (by his first marriage): Eric, Mark, Courtney |
George R. Roberts (born 1944) is an American financier and was one of the three original partners of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which he co-founded alongside Jerome Kohlberg and first cousin Henry Kravis in 1976.
George Roberts was born into a Jewish family in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1962 and received that institution's "Man of the Year" Award in 1998. He attended Claremont McKenna College, graduating in 1966, and the University of California's Hastings College of the Law, graduating in 1969.
Roberts worked for Bear Stearns in the late 1960s and early 1970s becoming a partner at the age of 29. While at Bear Stearns, Roberts, alongside Kohlberg and Kravis, began a series of what they described as "bootstrap" investments. Their acquisition of Orkin Exterminating Company in 1964 is among the first significant leveraged buyout transactions. In the following years the three Bear Stearns bankers would complete a series of buyouts including Stern Metals (1965), Incom (a division of Rockwood International, 1971), Cobblers Industries (1971), and Boren Clay (1973) as well as Thompson Wire, Eagle Motors and Barrows through their investment in Stern Metals. Although they had a number of highly successful investments, the $27 million investment in Cobblers ended in bankruptcy.
By 1976, tensions had built up between Bear Stearns and the trio of Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts leading to their departure and the formation of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in that year. Most notably, Bear Stearns executive Cy Lewis had rejected repeated proposals to form a dedicated investment fund within Bear Stearns and Lewis took exception to the amount of time spent on outside activities. Early investors in KKR included Henry Hillman By 1978, with the revision of the ERISA regulations, the nascent KKR was successful in raising the first institutional fund with investor commitments.
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