George R. Roberts

George Rosenberg Roberts (born September 14, 1943) is an American billionaire financier. He is one of the three original partners of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which he co-founded alongside Jerome Kohlberg and first cousin Henry Kravis in 1976.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, he has an estimated net worth of US$17.1 billion.<ref name="forbes"/>

Early life

George Roberts was born into a Jewish<ref name=JerusalemPost>Template:Cite web</ref> family in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1962 and received the 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Roberts worked for Bear Stearns in the late 1960s and early 1970s becoming a partner at the age of 29.<ref name=JerusalemPost/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Unreliable source?</ref>

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.<ref>In 1976, Kravis was forced to serve as interim CEO of a failing direct mail company Advo.</ref> Early investors in KKR included Henry Hillman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1978, with the revision of the ERISA regulations, the nascent KKR was successful in raising the first institutional fund with investor commitments.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He has an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion Template:As of.<ref name="forbes">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Personal life

In 1968, he married Leanne Bovet, daughter of Eric B. Bovet and Dorothy Champion of San Mateo, California.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Eric Bovet was the son of Swiss immigrant Louis Bovet and Grace Borel; Grace Borel was the daughter of Swiss immigrant Antoine Borel, a prominent banker in San Francisco and San Mateo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Leanne Bovet died in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On May 22, 2010, he married Goldman Sachs partner Linnea Conrad.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Philanthropic and public positions

Roberts is the founder and chairman of the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), a nonprofit organization and "employment social enterprise".<ref>REDF, Overview: What is an Employment Social Enterprise?, published on 22 June 2022, accessed on 8 May 2025</ref> REDF focuses on job creation for people facing significant barriers to work.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its revenue in 2023 was over $35 million.<ref>REDF and Affiliate, Consolidated Financial Statements, Supplementary Information and Additional Information, 31 December 2023, accessed on 8 May 2025</ref>

Roberts also serves as a trustee of Claremont McKenna College and Culver Military Academy, and is a board member of the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet and the Fine Arts Museum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, he donated $50 million to Claremont McKenna College.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He again donated $140 million to the college in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Awards and honors

• Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 1988<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Roberts winning 'Man of the Year' award