As Profits Rise, Private Equity Billionaires Have Huge Paydays

The largest paychecks on Wall Street aren’t being collected in corner offices at Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan, but at the top ranks of the world’s largest private equity firms, where hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing in carried interest payouts and bonuses.

The ballooning executive compensation at private equity and alternative investing firms reflects an industry flush with more cash than ever before. Blackstone’s net profit last year was $5.9 billion, up from $1 billion in 2020, and Schwarzman is now worth an estimated $37.6 billion after its stock has doubled since the beginning of 2021. KKR’s assets under management grew 87% in 2021 to $471 billion, with 55% in its private equity business and 45% in public market assets in credit funds and hedge-fund partnerships, which the firm launched in 2004 and grew from $103 billion at the end of 2020 to $213.5 billion last year.

The Carlyle Group, which manages $301 billion in assets, also saw its net profit grow from $348 million in 2020 to $3 billion last year, and $498-billion Apollo Global Management’s annual profit surged from $120 million to $1.8 billion. Neither of those firms have disclosed yet how much they paid their top brass last year, but it’s no wonder that competitors like TPG went public in January to begin to share in the spoils.