Former Carlyle boss demanded $300m to re-stack

Even in private equity, a sector where there is no lack of money, wage demands are not always followed up. Kewsong Lee, managing director of the American investment fund Carlyle, which manages 376 billion dollars, has just paid the price. At the head of the company, of which he has worked to diversify the sources of income for almost five years, he was a candidate for the renewal of his mandate at the end of the year. To carry out his new mission, Kewsong Lee demanded compensation of up to $300 million over five years, according to the FinancialTimes. An amount deemed far too high by the billionaire co-founders of Carlyle Bill Conway, David Rubenstein and Daniel D’Aniello, who sit on its board of directors.

The latter did not even bother to respond to the request for a detailed “package” sent by the general manager. Not even to engage in negotiations. Failing to obtain satisfaction and feeling that he no longer had the confidence of the board of directors, Kewsong Lee abruptly resigned from his post on Sunday. The leader, who earned $42 million last year, wanted to align his compensation with that of his peers in the United States. In December, the two bosses of the investment giant KKR (bigger than Carlyle) each obtained a “package” which could, in the best case, reach more than 1 billion dollars over five years.