Once an obscure niche of the investment world, private equity has grown into a juggernaut, with consequences for a wide range of industries as well as the financial markets. Private equity funds control companies representing trillions of dollars in assets, millions of employees, and the well-being of thousands of institutional investors and their beneficiaries. Even as the ruthlessness of some funds has made private equity a poster child for the harms of unfettered capitalism, many aspects of the industry remain opaque, hidden from the normal bounds of accountability. piThe Myth of Private Equityi is a hard-hitting and meticulous expos from an insider's viewpoint. Jeffrey C. Hooke--a former private equity executive and investment banker with deep knowledge of the industry--examines the negative effects of private equity and the ways in which it has avoided scrutiny. He unravels the exaggerations that the industry has spun to its customers and the business media, scrutinizing its clai