Private equity has infiltrated almost every facet of modern life, from football clubs to water companies, music catalogues to care homes, in its endless search to maximise profits. The industry now controls more than $13tn invested in over 50,000 companies worldwide, according to some estimates. Hundreds of millions of people interact with at least one private equity-owned business every day, and the relatively poor may live almost their entire lives in systems owned by these firms.
Critics have decried the industry's effects, with two major books published last year titled 'Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America' and 'These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs – and Wrecks – America'. The authors describe private equity as 'greed wrapped in the American flag of efficiency, looting justified by solid investment returns'. A grotesque example of the industry's modus operandi involves private equity-controlled dental chains inducing children to undergo multiple unnecessary root canals to drive up profits, with one child even dying as a result.
Practitioners of private equity see their industry differently, admitting to a few bad actors and bad deals, but defending the overall model. However, the reach of private equity continues to expand globally, raising concerns about accountability and the prioritisation of profits over people.
