Kravis, Henry R.

Kravis, Henry R. (1944–  ) investment banker; born in Tulsa, Okla. He developed the method of "junk bond" corporate financing at Bear Stearns (New York City). His own investment firm, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Co. (KKR) (1976), led the surge of leveraged buyouts of U.S. corporations in the 1980s. KKR specialized in buying, restructuring, and managing or selling off undervalued companies; it became one of the world's largest privately held corporations with such major acquisitions as Beatrice Foods (1986) and RJR Nabisco (1988).