Private Equity News & Analysis

PODCAST: Inside 2022’s record-breaking PEI 300 ranking

PEI’s editorial team discusses how the feverish fundraising environment has contributed to the record $2.6trn raised by the world's biggest private equity firms, and where the growth is coming from.

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Compiling the PEI 300 ranking is mammoth undertaking, with dozens of researchers and editorial staff across the Private Equity International group collaborating on the annual project. This year, a new firm came out on top.

For the first time in the ranking’s history, KKR secured the top spot, having raised a record-breaking $126.5 billion over the past five years – a total that accounted for nearly 5 percent of the entire ranking. Speaking to PEI about the firm’s first-place position, Alisa Wood, a partner in KKR’s client and partner group, said: “We’re not market timers… We want to buy good assets and good companies that we believe we can make better.”

Judging by the huge leap in capital raised by many firms over the past five years, it seems this is a widely shared view. This year’s 300 GPs collectively raised $2.6 trillion – up from $2.25 trillion last year – while the minimum amount needed to make the list was $1.85 billion, up from $1.55 billion the previous year.

In this episode of Spotlight, PEI’s editorial team sits down to discuss how the feverish fundraising environment of the past few years has contributed to these never-before-seen figures, and whether we should expect the industry to hit similar heights in coming years.