Michael ByungJu Kim (born 1963) is an American billionaire businessman of South Korean origin.[3] He is the founder and chairman of MBK Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. He has been called the "Godfather of Asian private equity".[4]
Kim began his career as a mergers and acquisitions banker at Goldman Sachs after completing his MBA at Harvard. In 1995, he joined Salomon Smith Barney, where he became a managing director and COO of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking. He later joined the Carlyle Group as a president of Carlyle Asia until 2005.[3]
Kim left Carlyle to found MBK Partners in 2005, which has since grown to over $30 billion in assets under management,[1] raising $6.5 billion for its most recent Fund V, becoming the largest independent private equity firm in Asia.[11] MBK Partners was named one of Time's World's Best Companies of 2024.[12]
Kim has broken several records in the South Korean market. His takeover of ING Korea and listing on the market, was the first time a private-equity owned company listed on exchanges in South Korea.[13] His takeover of Tesco subsidiary Homeplus was the largest private equity deal in South Korea's history.[citation needed]
In Japan, Kim and MBK acquired Godiva Japan in one of the largest deals in the consumer sector in Japan's history.[14] In China, Kim and MBK acquired eHi Car Services, one of the largest car rental and services companies in China.[citation needed]
In 2013 the Asian Venture Capital Journal named Kim as "Private Equity Professional of the Year,"[22] and in Finance Asia's 20th anniversary issue in 2016, Kim was called the "Godfather of Asian Private Equity".[23]
An August 2022 Financial Times article, "How South Korea learned to love private equity," called Kim the "godfather of Asian private equity" and one of the founding pioneers of the industry in the region.[24]
In 2021, Kim was ranked #5 on Forbes' The Richest Private Equity Billionaires,[27] and in 2023, Kim was ranked #1 on Forbes' Korea's 50 Richest, with a net worth of $9.7 billion.[28]
In January 2022, MBK sold an approximately 13% stake to Dyal Capital Partners in a transaction valued at about $1 billion.[29]
Kim is the author of a novel, Offerings, published in 2020.[30]
In July 2022, the Washington Post reported that Kim was among those interested in buying the Washington Nationals, the MLB team.[31]
In September 2022, the Chosun Ilbo reported that Byung Ju Kim paid 40 billion won in taxes and penalties to avoid criminal prosecution related to overseas tax evasion. This issue was associated with unreported income from the sale of ING Life Insurance in 2018. Kim reportedly made the payment to resolve the matter and evade the possibility of criminal charges in Korea.[32] Kim's company retorted that the accusations were "groundless," that tax evasion was a misinterpretation of the facts, and claimed that the issue stemmed from Kim's move to the United States in 2015. The company further claimed that Kim had paid the tax from the sale of ING contemporaneously to American authorities under the terms of the United States-Korea Tax Treaty, given Kim's United States residence.[33][34][full citation needed]
In Tony Robbins' book "The Holy Grail of Investing: the World's Greatest Investors",[35] published in March 2024, Kim was called "The Godfather of Asia Private Equity and wealthiest man in South Korea."[citation needed]
In July 2024, Kim became chair of the board of trustees at Haverford College, the first Korean-American to hold such a position at a U.S. university.[36][37]
Philanthropy
In 2010, Kim pledged $7.5 million toward the construction of a new dormitory at Haverford College.[38] The dorm is named "Kim" in honor of the donor's father.
In 2018, Kim endowed $7 million toward the Michael B. Kim Associate Professorship for Asian business leadership at Harvard Business School.[citation needed]
In August 2021, Kim pledged KRW30 billion ($27 million) to the Seoul Metropolitan Government to build a public library in Seoul, Korea. Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced Seoul will honor the gift by naming the library after the donor, The Seoul Public Kim ByungJu Library. The gift is reported to represent the first-ever donation by an individual for the construction of a civic institution in Seoul.[39]
In December 2021, Kim was named to Forbes Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy list.[40] In December 2022, he was named to the Forbes Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy list again.[41]
In September 2022, Kim donated $10 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum will name a gallery after Kim and his wife, the Michael B. Kim and Kyung Ah Park gallery. This will be the first gallery in the museum to be named after a person of Korean descent.[42]
In April 2024, Haverford announced that Kim was donating $25 million to the college (equal to the largest single gift the school had ever received) to establish an Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership and to fund related faculty positions.[43][44]
Personal life
Kim is married to Park Kyung-ah, the daughter of the late South Korean Prime MinisterPark Tae-joon.[1] Her father was founder of POSCO, the largest steel company in South Korea. The couple have two children and live in Seoul.[1]
Honors and recognition
2013, Awarded Asian Venture Capital Journal's “Private Equity Professional of the Year”[45]
2017, Awarded “Philanthropist of the Year” by the Council of Korean Americans[46]
2015, Named one of Bloomberg Markets “The 50 Most Influential”[47]
2021, Named one of Forbes’ “Asia’s 2021 Heroes of Philanthropy”[48]
2022, Named one of Forbes’ “Asia’s 2022 Heroes of Philanthropy”[49]
2024, Voted “Most Influential in Korea’s Capital Market” by Market Insight[50]
2024, Elected Chair of the Haverford College Board of Managers[51][52]
2024 Named one of Forbes’ “Asia’s 2024 Heroes of Philanthropy”[53]
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