Explore the issues

The private equity industry has touted its contributions to the US economy by employing millions of workers. However, since private equity firms acquire companies with existing workers, they often do not create new jobs. Studies show that private equity takeovers…

Private equity describes the investment of equity capital in private companies. Private equity firms purchase ownership stakes in these private companies that are specifically not listed on a stock exchange. The hope for these firms is an increase in value…

PESP is proud to have a diverse team centered in many different locations across the country. Click on a team member to view their contact information.

PESP Theory of Change We seek to shed light upon and demand accountability for the impacts of private equity investments on people and the planet through research, collaboration with impacted stakeholders, and engaging decision-makers to drive change.

Background The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) is a nonprofit watchdog organization focused on the growing private equity and broader private funds industry. PESP was founded in 2017 to address the growing impacts of private equity and private funds managers…

Thai workers have won the largest wage-theft settlement at a garment factory after a year-long campaign supported by international labor rights advocates. The Solidarity Center and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) announced…

Last week Kohl’s shareholders rejected a bid from activist investors to take over the board, voting to leave the company’s board of directors intact. Earlier this year private equity firms Sycamore Partners and Leonard Green & Partners made offers…

Private Equity Stakeholder Project Jim Baker was a recent guest on Nick Hanauer’s Pitchfork Economics podcast. Pitchfork Economics’ host Hanauer interviews economic and political thinkers in an exploration of society’s growing inequality. Baker explained the private equity’s growth and the…

On February 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) announced publication of a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment on what actions, if any, the department should take under federal law to protect retirement savings and pensions from…

A collaboration between EPI and the Shift Project, The Company Wage Tracker looks at 66 large retail and foodservice firms and shows how many workers the firms employ, how much revenue they generate in U.S. operations, how much their CEOs…