Oof – this was a tough one to read. An awkward balance of educational and depressing, the book chronicles the damage done by profit-focused private equity firms in a bid to deliver the most value to their shareholders and more importantly their executives.
The whole reason I picked up this book was because I didn’t really know much about the world of finance, especially private equity firms, junk bonds and hedge funds. There is a lot of depth in this book, explaining with extensive statistics how these firms took a very unethical approach to making profit, rather than improving the companies that they acquired.
In a book full of startling episodes, perhaps the most painful to read was the section on how private equity got into healthcare. The whole healthcare system in the USA already seems like a bloated mess and adding these piranas to the mix resulted on the blood bath you’d expect.
While educational and full of statistics to back up their assertions, it sometimes got a little too hung up in details of cases from years ago – almost like it was still litigating even though the companies and people affected had long since passed.
And I realize the name of the book sort of tells you what to expect but I still felt sometimes like there must be another side to some of the events described. The writer often gave the company representative a chance to respond, but they had canned PR-speak answers. The book was balanced in terms of content but I thought the tone of the author was a little shrill sometimes. Describing these atrocities in a level-headed tone may make it easier for more people to acknowledge.
In Japan companies are held to the fire in terms of considering the social good of the nation and the local community in their financial dealings. This book was a reminder that some people out there don’t think that way.
Next I am reading Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.
