Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) has built a reputation for itself as one of the most recognizable names in finance. The firm is perhaps most well known for its part in one of the largest buyouts in history—the $31 billion takeover of RJR Nabisco, which was later immortalized in the best-selling book and subsequent television movie Barbarians at the Gate. Today, KKR's private equity portfolio includes 105 portfolios companies, which account for $200 billion in annual revenues and employee close to 1 million people.

In recent years, KKR has expanded well beyond PE, and now invests in many other asset classes, including energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit strategies, and hedge funds. Overall, it has nearly $99 billion in assets under management and employs 1,300 people. The firm is still led by its founders: Co-CEOs and Co-Chairmen Henry Kravis and George Roberts.