Henry Kravis at Brave New Films

MAMA MIA! John McCain is the Loophole King!

2008-07-25T04:44:19Z

SEIU demonstration 7.17.08 outside McCain for President HQ, calling on John McCain to take action against tax loopholes for corporate buyout tax breaks for people like his supporter, Henry Kravis.

For more, check out the War on Greed .

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Lewis Black Rants Against Corporate Greed

2008-06-16T21:29:58Z

From Stephen Lerner, Director of the SEIU’s Private Equity Project:

The Democratic primary is over, and Senators Obama and McCain now face an electorate angry over high gas prices, stagnant wages and a sour economy. The call for change is so loud and so persistent that it’s already become a campaign cliché.

Cliché or not, it’s a major force driving this election, and whichever candidate harnesses the country’s mood will win this election. Henry Kravis, founder of KKR—effectively the nation’s second largest private employer and one of the largest buyout firms in the nation—has more to do with the country’s unease than people imagine.

He’s a symbol of the “Just Us” corporate business mentality that so many Americans want to see change. Rich beyond belief, he still lobbied tenaciously last year against a little reform that would have leveled the playing field between hedge fund managers and buyout executives and teachers, nurses, and other middle class Americans. At stake was the elimination of a single tax loophole that saved Henry Kravis up to $96 million in 2006. Because of the loophole, Kravis and a handful of other buyout executives are able to pay a 15 percent tax rate on much of their income, far less than the tax rates that many middle class Americans pay.

That loophole was just the tip of the iceberg.

Jenna Bush's Wedding Night

2008-07-25T04:23:39Z

America's princess becomes a woman

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Henry Kravis Wins the Loophole of the Year Award

2008-06-19T09:29:54Z

Yesterday, 10 members of the Working Families Party were joined by 5 SEIU 1199 members and 25 members of SEIU Local 32BJ outside the Waldorf Astoria, where Billionaire tax-avoider Henry Kravis of the private equity firm KKR hosted a Columbia Business School award dinner. We had an award for Henry too, the Loophole of the Year Award, for the man who single-handedly dodged his way out of $96 million in taxes in one year alone.

Holding the award plaque and a giant banner, we protested and passed out leaflets to passersby asking why Kravis gets to pay a lower tax rate than nurses and hotel doormen. As tuxedo-clad guests streamed in to the event, we got some great reactions. No one was willing to give Kravis our award for us though, and the Hotel claimed to have lost our tickets. Guess we’ll have to keep looking for Kravis at his next gala event.

Sign our petition and tell our presidential nominees to close the Kravis tax loophole.

Watch the video

Workers Demand that Buyout Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share

2008-07-25T04:48:02Z

http://warongreed.org

May 5th, 2008: Works gather outside the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC to give Henry Kravis the "Loophole of the Year" award.

Watch the video

Buyout Billionaires' Recession-Proof Secrets Revealed

2008-07-25T04:48:17Z

How is it possible for us to be entering a recession while buyout billionaires like Henry Kravis saved $96 million through tax loopholes in 2006 alone? That's just one buyout billionaire, in one year, making use of one loophole! Just think how much these private equity crooks are costing taxpayers who are already battling financial hardships and home foreclosures.

Our earlier War on Greed films garnered over 350,000 views and a lot of attention from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The New York Post, not to mention the Private Equity Council. Such wonderful feedback made us realize that now is a crucial time to connect the dots between buyout billionaires and everyday Americans suffering through this recession. And in talking with many of you, we thought a short, animated video could be a great means of conveying the gross misconduct of Henry Kravis, KKR, and the policies of buyout exploiters. So Paris, Lee Stranahan, and the team went to work to bring you our first animated video.

Now for the serious part. Join over 18,000 people who have already signed our petition demanding our presidential candidates close the Henry Kravis tax loophole. Then, please send this film along to ten people. Make sure Larry the Loophole is seen by friends, relatives, and schoolmates through Facebook, MySpace-the works! We already started spreading our message yesterday outside the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, when we joined the SEIU to present Kravis with the "Loophole of the Year" Award.

Last week, journalist David Sirota wrote, "As the facts trickle out about the private equity scam, you can bet public pressure for change is going to start building." Yes, we've presented the facts here with animated satire and humor, but our hope is that this will allow us to reach tens of thousands of people together.

By the way, our Condi Must GO video was a smashing success. Not only was it the #1 Video on YouTube News and Politics, but we received over 70,000 signatures for our petition. However, we still need more to reach our goal. Help us send Condi packing by sending Condi Must GO to all of your friends to sign.

Watch the video

The War on Greed starring Larry the Loophole

2008-07-25T04:48:03Z

Buyout industry executives with multimillion dollar incomes have been amassing fortunes by exploiting a major tax loophole. Their tax privileges have robbed the public purse and placed the burden on working- and middle-class taxpayers. Sign the petition demanding the Presidential candidates close the buy-out industry's tax loopholes at warongreed.org

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The Homes of Henry Kravis

2008-03-22T21:55:01Z

Let’s take another peek [Lifestyles theme] into the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Cranky.”

The old rich pride themselves in … well, in having some pride. For example, they tend to set their venerable mansions behind tall walls and shrubs that discreetly obscure their wealth. It's a matter of class. On the other hand, the new rich are more inclined to crassly flaunt their abundance, building garish houses that amount to neon signs screaming; “Look how rich I am, sucker!”

How surprising then that one of the showiest of these look-at-me celebrities of wealth has gotten pouty about being featured in a movie that, after all, is about him. He's Henry Kravis of Manhattan, South Hampton, and... well, so many places. In Henry’s life, everything is about him. He heads an eponymous Wall Street equity firm that essentially borrows money to take over corporations that other people built. To pay off his lenders, Kravis sells off whole chunks of the captured corporation. Then he fires thousands of workers, slashes the wages and benefits of those who remain, and pockets the savings for himself.

Calling Henry Kravis

2008-07-25T04:48:04Z

Giving up is certainly not something we do here at Brave New Films. This time however, we had to throw in the towel. For weeks, our team repeatedly tried to reach Henry Kravis, the star of our War On Greed video series.

From interns to producers even Director Robert Greenwald himself all tried their luck at calling Mr. Kravis to invite him to share his point of view and to give him an opportunity to speak for himself. We left messages with the switchboard operator, his assistant, and his voice mail became our acquaintance. His PR firm never responded, and obviously, neither did Mr. Kravis.

We would like to add that aside from simply picking up the phone, we proposed Mr. Kravis the sweet deal of meeting with him at his own time, at the location of his choice, at his convenience. All he had to do was say the word and we would have followed. We offered to post the transcript of the would-be interview in its entirety on the web, so that his words would not be misinterpreted or lost in translation. Unfortunately, our perks didn't interest Mr. Kravis, and we have yet to hear from him. Mr. Kravis: you can't say we never tried.

Watch the video

What you may not know about MLK. Spanish subtitles.

2008-06-25T08:45:13Z

http://warongreed.org/dreams.php

"Equality means dignity. And dignity demands a job and a paycheck that lasts through the week."

The War on Greed is exactly this kind of fight. The livelihoods of families have been directly attacked by the actions of buyout billionaires like Henry Kravis putting Wall Street's special interests ahead of his 800,000 employees... and pocketing $51,000 an hour in the process.

The first step must be taxing these buyout billionaires at a fair tax rate. It will not solve all the problems, but it is a strong and forceful beginning. With the presidential campaigns underway, it is the perfect time to force this issue into the campaigns the way we did with Wal-Mart and Iraq for Sale.

As our friend Rev. Yearwood, leader of the Hip Hop Caucus, has said: "We are facing a lunch counter moment for the 21st century."

Please join us at our virtual lunch counter by signing the petition to presidential candidates demanding they pledge to close the loopholes and tax the tax dodgers. Buyout billionaires are a menace to our economy. People are hurting, badly, and we must take beginning steps to bring the issue of corporate greed and economic equality to the nation's attention.

Watch the video

The Greatest Greed

2008-03-08T01:14:09Z

As a former partner in a private equity firm, I have seen greed at all levels.

In my opinion, there is no greater exemplification of private equity greed than the taking public of a portion of the management companies of private equity firms. Blackstone and Fortress were two that pulled it off. KKR filed documents to go public and several others, including The Carlyle Group, were rumored to do IPOs; however, market conditions kept the latter few from swindling the public markets to line their pockets. The moves by Blackstone and Fortress proved prescient: They made out like bandits.

Blackstone went public at $31 a share on June 22, 2007. This netted the firm’s partners $3.7 billion. The two founders had the best paydays. Steve Schwarzman had a nearly $450 million payday with a residual 24% ownership in the company valued at $7.5 billion. According to public filings, Schwarzman received cash payouts of $400 million the year prior. His co-founder partner, Peter Peterson, cashed out $1.9 billion and retained a 4% stake in the company.

Fortress came out in February 2007. Their five founders had a payday of $409 million. This was after taking combined distributions of $447 million the year prior.

Both companies had a short spike in stock price post-close and have since been trading below its IPO price. Did most institutions cash out at the spike leaving the crumbs for the average investor that has lost money?

Articles on Steve Schwarzman estimated his net worth at $10 billion before the IPO. The IPO nearly doubled his net worth.

Stay tuned – how the Blackstone partners cashed out $3.7 billion in its IPO and avoided paying taxes on it.

What you may not know about Dr. Martin Luther King

2008-07-13T21:27:57Z

Today we honor Dr. King's birthday. We all know him because of his historic impact on civil rights, but many don't realize that later in life he fought just as passionately for the rights of workers and against the entrenched institutions of injustice.

"Equality means dignity. And dignity demands a job and a paycheck that lasts through the week."

The War on Greed is exactly this kind of fight. The livelihoods of families have been directly attacked by the actions of buyout billionaires like Henry Kravis putting Wall Street's special interests ahead of his 800,000 employees... and pocketing $51,000 an hour in the process.

Watch the video

The first step must be taxing these buyout billionaires at a fair tax rate. It will not solve all the problems, but it is a strong and forceful beginning. With the presidential campaigns underway, it is the perfect time to force this issue into the campaigns the way we did with Wal-Mart and Iraq for Sale.

As our friend Rev. Yearwood, leader of the Hip Hop Caucus, has said: "We are facing a lunch counter moment for the 21st century."

Please join us at our virtual lunch counter by signing the petition to presidential candidates demanding they pledge to close the loopholes and tax the tax dodgers. Buyout billionaires are a menace to our economy. People are hurting, badly, and we must take beginning steps to bring the issue of corporate greed and economic equality to the nation's attention.

War on Greed: Fight for the Dream

2008-07-20T17:08:46Z

On this day celebrating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King who immortalized the words “I have a dream”, we should all stop and take a moment to remember the compelling message of hope that he gave as a gift to us all.

To Dr. King, racial equality was just part of the inspired and virtuous future he envisioned for our nation. He also dreamt of a society where economic fairness would become part of the essential fabric of our democracy. Dr. King’s stirring and inspirational words allowed every man, woman and child to visualize their deserved place in the sun, a society of inclusion without the divisions of class built with the brotherhood and generosity that he believed all men and women capable of. That was his dream for us, and it should be our dream to honor him by fulfilling that.

Today, the reality is that the goals of ending poverty and economic disparity that Dr. King articulated so eloquently have still not been achieved. There are still formidable obstacles built upon foundations of greed standing in the way, and a growing economic disparity that prevents millions of Americans from being able to realize his dream.

Nothing represents these obstacles more than leveraged buyout (private equity) firms such as KKR, led by billionaire Henry Kravis. Companies like KKR and men like Kravis are the antithesis of what Dr. King stood for, seekers of limitless wealth for the few at the expense of the many. Private equity firms like KKR generate huge profits by acquiring public companies with primarily borrowed money. They then take them private to ensure secrecy and often dissect and restructure them for the purpose of selling the company later. In the process, these firms sometimes lay off workers, cut wages and restrict medical benefits to drive up the stock price and increase profitability, insuring a higher sales price. Kravis and others like him also benefit from tax breaks unavailable to the average American. He pays a tax rate of only 15% on a majority of his $450,000,000 annual income, percentage-wise, less tax than many teachers, firemen, and policemen pay.

Brave New Films ongoing “War on Greed” campaign seeks to educate the public about how leveraged buyout firms like KKR operate and the damage that they often do. This new video in the series, “Fight For The Dream” tells the story of the workers at Accuride’s Rockford, Illinois plant; a company bought by KKR, and contrasts the exploitation they faced with Dr. King’s message of equality and dignity.

How the private equity buyout industry works

2008-07-08T01:26:47Z

Jeff Faux, author of The Global Class War, explains how the private equity buyout industry works, and how it hurts American workers and our economy.

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Behind Henry Kravis' buyout of Accuride

2008-06-07T16:40:19Z

http://warongreed.org/facts.php

KKR made $79.8 million on the buyout of Accuride. Jeff Faux, author of The Global Class War, explains.

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War on Greed: Rev. Yearwood on MLK's dream

2008-07-08T05:32:55Z

Rev. Lennox Yearwood from the Hip Hop Caucus:

40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died so all of us could have human dignity and equality here in America. He died to bridge the divide between the rich and the poor. He died so white and black could all come together, so we could all have human dignity. He understood that economic rights were at the core of the fabric of human dignity.

As we fast forward to the 21st century, multi-billionaire wall street tycoons like Henry Kravis and companies like KKR are causing that dream to become a nightmare.

Watch the video

John Edwards in Ames, Iowa: "This is very personal for me"

2008-06-13T09:37:27Z

This is a great speech by Edwards, who is apparently experiencing a "surge" right now in Iowa.

Let's face it, when corporate protectors like Stu Rothenberg--so happy in his gated city--attack you for being too populist, you're doing something right (yes, populism also failed that "crazy" man named Franklin Roosevelt who spoke of "economic royalists," as it equally doomed Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, LBJ, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Oh yeah and that guy who won the popular vote, Al Gore).

I'd pay good money if people like old Stu would just once pick up a history book before opening their ignorant traps. In any case, Edwards talks about, in plain language, what we have spoken about in our War On Greed campaign. There are no deals to be made with the Henry Kravises of the world...

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The Winner of the War on Greed contest

2008-07-08T05:22:35Z

Two weeks ago, we released the "War on Greed Starring Henry Kravis' Homes" and asked what you would do with one of Kravis' mansions for a day during the holidays.

We received thousands of responses, but Carolyn's idea clearly stood out.

Listen to her story.. and Merry Christmas!

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$38 Billion in Bonuses for Wall Streeters, Home Foreclosures for Regular Folks. Really?

2008-07-09T19:24:40Z

Yes, really. More sickening greed for you from the Kravisization of Wall Street via the AFL-CIO:

While executives at the top five Wall Street firms are getting a record $38 billion in bonuses this Christmas season, millions of working families are worrying whether they will lose their homes in the New Year-in the wake of the nation's mortgage crisis.
The AFL-CIO called today for major mortgage lenders to impose a one-year moratorium on subprime mortgage foreclosures. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, in a letter to the largest subprime mortgage lenders and underwriters, writes:

Wall Street seems to be giving unprecedented cash rewards to the very people whose conduct threatens to strip millions of Americans of their homes and drive our country into recession, while at the same time refusing to take the actions necessary to address the crisis.

Yes, this is the America that has been created by Bush, his Republican cronies and too many corporate Democrats. You want more holiday spirit? Well, our friend Ohdave reminded me of this in the comments:

The Bush administration has thwarted Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to expand Ohio's popular children's health insurance program to cover middle-class youngsters.
"What this means is that thousands of needy Ohio children will be deprived of access to critical health-care coverage," Strickland said.
"I am appalled at the heartless decision of the Bush administration to reject Ohio's bipartisan plan to provide health-care access to thousands of our children. Sadly, this is an indication that the president and his advisers are totally out of touch with the struggles faced by so many Ohio families."
Federal regulators denied the state's request to expand eligibility to uninsured children in families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. That's $51,510 a year for a family of three.

Yes, our fantastic populist governor in Ohio, Ted Strickland, is having his plan to help needy children rejected by our fabulist, pompous "President." Merry Christmas kids! Just avoid the outdoors, Chinese toys and meat not cooked really, really well!

Now, in comparison, take a look at what the One Campaign (people who are actually "compassionate" but thankfully not conservative) is doing. Compare the fight they are leading against global poverty (watch the video) to the perverted morality of the money changers known as the GOP.

Let's hope we can get more progressives in government this new year to empower organizations like the One Campaign that much more.

PS Just to feel that much better about money not going to give kids healthcare or solve global poverty issues, just look at how long the State Department has known definitively that Blackwater's been committing fraud, as it kept feeding them no-bid contracts after no-bid contracts for BILLIONS that could be going to kids in need.

Watch the video

Merry Christmas, little people!

2008-01-12T20:45:01Z

Here’s a fun example of what passes for holiday cheer in the leveraged buyout industry. The editors and reporters at Private Equity Online, an online high finance rag sheet, sent out their very own Christmas rhyme to their email subscribers. In this quaint little yuletide yarn, a private equity partner spontaneously decides to spread holiday cheer to his inferiors at the office by sharing the profits of his latest deal – after the “cleaning lady” finds evidence of insider trading and uses it to blackmail the firm! Ho! Ho! Ho! God bless us, every one!

Henry Kravis makes 51,369 PER HOUR. Spanish subtitles.

2008-07-08T05:33:26Z

Henry Kravis is a billionaire, the 57th richest person in America. He acquired this wealth by purchasing public companies with borrowed money. To pay off the debt, he cuts benefits at the company, sells its assets, and lays off employees.

This get-rich-quick scheme made him $450 million last year. Meanwhile, his tax rate is lower than teachers, firemen, nurses, even his own cleaning staff!

Yet everyday we hear another story, we live another experience, we see another example of the horrific economic pain our country is being devastated by.

It's time all of us started a WAR ON GREED. warongreed.org (more)

Watch the video

War On Greed "Walkabout"

2008-03-22T21:54:47Z

Following up on our successful effort to expose the modern day robber barons who make billions and benefit from tax loopholes that allow them to get taxed at a lower rate than police officers, waiters or any other American working much much harder for much much less.

Here are your details:

Throughout the day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, activists will be using walking video billboards, new technology that allows for street level viewing by passersby. The "War on Greed Walkabout" will include stops outside the offices of the buyout industry's lobbying group, the Private Equity Council, Capitol Hill, Metro stations, fire stations, and along the K St. corridor and the Carlyle Group Headquarters.
To join in the fun, meet at 1800 Mass: 12/11 4:30pm, 12/12 8am, or 12/13 4pm
Note to reporters: if you would like to accompany the "War on Greed Walkabout" please contact SEIU's Renee Asher at 202-255-4251.

Be there or be square...or Republican.

P.S. For a primer on the two-tier country we have become, go to Alternet and check out how this piece by Joshua Holland on how the American Dream is still alive and well...in Finland.

How Kravis Greed Hurts American Workers

2008-03-22T21:54:47Z

The Brave New Films documentary series The War On Greed has taken off like gangbusters, garnering a great deal of laudatory press coverage and internet interest for it’s tongue-in-cheek look at the lavish lifestyle of leveraged buyout specialist Henry Kravis head of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts.

It also takes a poignant look at the hard working, middle-class Americans that have been so adversely affected by the predatory practices of many private equity firms. Workers often lose their jobs and health benefits when their companies have been acquired in an effort to make them more profitable so they can be sold. This paper shuffling reaps billions in profits for the private equity firm and their investors and unemployment checks for the workers while they look for a new job that pays the same.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan had this to say about the private equity economy,

This growing inequality is not the type of thing which a democratic society can really accept without addressing.

Here are some real-life examples of how workers suffer. Keep in mind that these are not just numbers, they represent living breathing people, your neighbors and mine.

1. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., laid off 1,700 First Data Corp. workers just two months after they bought the payment processor. The layoffs accounted for about 6 percent of the workforce.

2. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., bought Rockwood Holdings in November 2000 for $1.18 billion. Henry Kravis hired Ghasemi, a former executive director at National Iranian Steel Industries, the country's state-run steel company under the late shah as CEO. Ghasemi fired 400 people companywide, or 10 percent of the workforce.

3. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., bought Safeway Stores, Inc. in 1985. Within three years Safeway sold or closed more than 1,100 of the 2,400 stores it owned and 63,000 workers were laid off

4. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., bought Beatrice Companies, a conglomerate based on a food-processing business. They offered the current management generous retirement packages and proceeded to dismantle the conglomerate. With most of the subsidiaries sold off, the profitable core business offered investors a seven-fold return on their money.

5. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., bought German company MTU in November 2003. Since then it has replaced several top managers, including the chief executive; put the heat on the new bosses to improve operating performance; and, more quickly than initially anticipated, cashed out. As part of its restructuring, MTU which employs 7,400 people worldwide, has cut about 1,000 jobs.

6. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., along with a private investor group bought HCA, owner of 182 hospitals and 94 surgery centers in 2006. A month later close its billing office and laid off about 500 workers.

7. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a major partner in a group of private equity firms bought media giant VNU the parent of Nielsen Media Research and AC Nielsen, for $10 billion in the summer of 2006. In December, VNU began layoffs expected to reduce its workforce by some 4,100 jobs, or nearly 10 percent of its worldwide organization, throughout 2007.

It’s time that these predatory practices ended and time that the needs of American workers are put before those of corporate greed merchants. Make your voice heard.

Robert Greenwald discusses the War on Greed on CNBC

2008-07-08T05:32:08Z

CNBC's "Closing Bell" did a segment on our new documentary series the "War on Greed" today, including an interview with Robert, shots of the video's premiere outside Henry Kravis' house and clips from the video.

Watch the video

War on Greed: Starring Henry Kravis and his Homes

2008-03-25T11:18:02Z

This is a new project of ours at Brave New Films. To point out the disgusting income disparity that has arisen during the Bush years. And the corporate raiders who make gazillions through tax loopholes and bad behavior, while cutting jobs, salaries, benefits, you name it, for their workers.

Watch the video. And then go HERE. Robert has a great piece up on this.