Originally published in Nikkei Asia's “Henry Kravis: My Personal History"
Chapter 4
A family tragedy that made a lasting impact
My parents' first child, named George after my grandfather, lost his life suddenly to crib death. Their second son, my elder brother, was also named George. We were born five years apart. Due to the tragic loss of their first child, my parents raised George with extreme care and were very overprotective of him, which ultimately left me more freedom to grow and become an independent thinker. I didn't ask my parents how things were done. I tried to figure it out on my own, a trait that remains in my blood to this day.
I remember an episode when I was 3 years old. I'll never forget it. It's like it was yesterday. I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom and my mother looked in and said, "What are you doing?" "I'm tying my shoelaces," I replied. She said, "You don't know how to tie your shoelaces." I then told her, "I'm going to figure it out." And somehow, I did.
I have always been impatient. So much so that my father once joked about my tendency to take rash action at a dinner party: "Henry's always been in a hurry. Even when he was born, he was born two months prematurely."
Growing up, my independence fueled my curiosity.
I also developed an unhelpful aversion to asking for favors. Frankly, if I had sought help from others, I would have made far fewer mistakes. I think some of the most important things parents can provide for their children are unconditional love, education and a spirit of independence.
After attending Eaglebrook School, a junior high school, Loomis Chaffee School, a high school, and Claremont McKenna College, I enrolled in Columbia Business School in 1967 to get my MBA.
Within the first two weeks, I had become disillusioned with Columbia when my marketing professor asked, "How many of you want to work at Procter & Gamble?" Everybody's hands went up except for mine. With all due respect to Procter & Gamble, I wanted to be an entrepreneur.
Immediately afterward, I called my father and said to him, "I'm going to quit. I think I'm at the wrong school."
My father tried to make me think twice. "Son, calm down," he said. "Stick it out."
Needless to say, my father's advice was 100% right. As it turned out, the courses were quite enjoyable, and I took as many as I could. I particularly liked my finance courses. I eventually came to think, "OK, I want to go to Wall Street."
As I mentioned earlier, I worked as an intern for a research analyst covering the insurance industry in Goldman Sachs' research department while I was a university student. I was interested in analyzing companies and problem-solving, seeking solutions to financial challenges. I also worked for the Madison Fund the summer after I graduated from Claremont to learn how an investment fund made decisions to buy certain securities before enrolling in Columbia for my master's.
My cousin George (Roberts, co-founder) was interested in corporate finance. In the mid-1960s, he started working as a summer intern at Bear Stearns, a major investment bank in New York. After graduating from law school, he began to work for the company's corporate finance department. In 1969, after I graduated from Columbia, I joined Bear Stearns at George's suggestion.