How private equity went political

Damon Buffini is the 'man of the people' leading the PR offensive for private equity. We profile how he was dragged out from behind the scenes to become chief whipping boy for the trade unions.

Damon Buffini: the 'man of the people' leading the PR offensive for private equity

"It would take a stony heart not to feel sorry for Damon Buffini," says The Business. The Permira chief has become "the whipping boy" for Britain's trade unions in their campaign to highlight the evils of private equity a traumatic experience for this shy multimillionaire. Yet in terms of profile, the roasting has done Buffini no harm at all. "He's the most important person you've probably never heard of," The Independent said last week; Europe's most gifted money manager; the face of the New City; "the most powerful black man in Britain".

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