‘People are feeling the real impacts’: influencers use humor to make fun of the private equity industry
Johnny Hilbrant Partridge kept getting stuck next to the same kind of finance guy at weddings – the one bragging about his family’s full-time nanny and lavish vacations while name-dropping elite club memberships and private schools.
To Partridge, a former fitness instructor, their shameless knack for self-promotion felt ripe for comedy. Using a filter that puts an exaggerated sneer on his face, Partridge donned a puffer vest and created “The PE Guy”, a caricature of the men who work in the private equity industry.
“All we did is acquire some youth hockey complexes, implement dynamic pricing and put some people on recurring revenue subscription models,” Partridge scoffed in a video after lawmakers introduced a bill this year to ban private equity from youth sports. “This country used to reward innovation, and suddenly it’s wrong to charge $11,000 for a development lacrosse weekend … give me a break.”
Since he first debuted the character last year, “The PE Guy” has racked up millions of views on Instagram and TikTok, becoming the most popular player in a fast-growing ecosystem skewering private equity. The multi-trillion-dollar industry has turned into a catch-all online for the ills of modern capitalism, inspiring “a day in the life” skits and parody rap music videos.
For many viewers, the draw is the dark humor, something that even the finance guys are embracing. Partridge said he gets invited to speak at insurance and private equity conferences and finance companies’ annual meetings as comic relief.
But it’s also been a way many Americans are learning how the industry, which often operates out of view and without the same oversight or regulation as publicly traded corporations, is affecting their lives.
Every business has bad actors, Partridge said, but he chose to focus on private equity because it is changing everyday things like health care so radically that “people are feeling the real impacts from it”, he said.
Private equity has found its way into everything from funeral homes to family dental offices. Once they were acquired by private equity firms, beloved chains like JoAnn Fabrics and Toys “R” Us faced bankruptcies, and many name-brands taken over by the industry have degraded in quality.
“When people say private equity, they don’t just mean the exact technical term,” said Hojung Kim, whose August Instagram post on how private equity is changing veterinary care got a million views in just two days. The term has come to represent “leveraged buyouts, hard cost-cutting in order to ruthlessly profit maximize and saddling the business with debt in order to self-enrich”.
Struck by the response, Kim, co-founder of an affordable LSAT prep business, started a series on other industries changed by private equity and built Grass, an app that helps users find independent American businesses.
“We hit a nerve. A lot of people were being affected by this rampant rise in costs and wanted to know what was behind it,” Kim said. “As it happens, private equity has changed a lot of industry landscapes.”
TikTok and Instagram are awash in pro-business content too, of course, as companies overall have spent $37bn on influencer marketing in 2025, one advertising trade group estimates, and private equity companies are even buying up influencer tools like Uscreen.
But the private equity criticism continues to grow. Journalist Pablo Torre and comedian Stavros Halkias have gotten hundreds of thousands of views on a YouTube video railing about Blackstone’s takeover of Jersey Mike’s Subs and financial investors in sports teams.
“If they fucking destroy the Lakers, guys with Kobe [Bryant] back tattoos are going to start the proletariat revolution,” Halkias said in Why Private Equity Shouldn’t Exist, going off news that the Los Angeles basketball team was acquired by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5bn in August. “The closest we’re getting to class consciousness is fast food and sports teams.”
Natalka Burian, owner of Elsa, a bar in Brooklyn, is among the food industry experts who are chronicling private equity’s takeover of restaurants and bakeries.
They can pay outrageous rents and snatch up the best locations, she said, which drives out businesses like her own.
“That’s money that should be going to local businesses,” Burian said. “I think there’s something about this blandness that takes away from our communities.”
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
Skits and parodies making fun of the trillion-dollar industry have taken over social media, racking up millions of views. Johnny Hilbrant Partridge kept getting stuck next to the…
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
Johnny Hilbrant Partridge kept getting stuck next to the same kind of finance guy at weddings – the one bragging about his family’s full-time nanny and lavish vacations while name-dropping elite club memberships and private schools.
To Partridge, a former fitness instructor, their shameless knack for self-promotion felt ripe for comedy. Using a filter that puts an exaggerated sneer on his face, Partridge donned a puffer vest and created “The PE Guy”, a caricature of the men who work in the private equity industry.
“All we did is acquire some youth hockey complexes, implement dynamic pricing and put some people on recurring revenue subscription models,” Partridge scoffed in a video after lawmakers introduced a bill this year to ban private equity from youth sports. “This country used to reward innovation, and suddenly it’s wrong to charge $11,000 for a development lacrosse weekend … give me a break.”
Since he first debuted the character last year, “The PE Guy” has racked up millions of views on Instagram and TikTok, becoming the most popular player in a fast-growing ecosystem skewering private equity. The multi-trillion-dollar industry has turned into a catch-all online for the ills of modern capitalism, inspiring “a day in the life” skits and parody rap music videos.
For many viewers, the draw is the dark humor, something that even the finance guys are embracing. Partridge said he gets invited to speak at insurance and private equity conferences and finance companies’ annual meetings as comic relief.
But it’s also been a way many Americans are learning how the industry, which often operates out of view and without the same oversight or regulation as publicly traded corporations, is affecting their lives.
Every business has bad actors, Partridge said, but he chose to focus on private equity because it is changing everyday things like health care so radically that “people are feeling the real impacts from it”, he said.
Private equity has found its way into everything from funeral homes to family dental offices. Once they were acquired by private equity firms, beloved chains like JoAnn Fabrics and Toys “R” Us faced bankruptcies, and many name-brands taken over by the industry have degraded in quality.
“When people say private equity, they don’t just mean the exact technical term,” said Hojung Kim, whose August Instagram post on how private equity is changing veterinary care got a million views in just two days. The term has come to represent “leveraged buyouts, hard cost-cutting in order to ruthlessly profit maximize and saddling the business with debt in order to self-enrich”.
Struck by the response, Kim, co-founder of an affordable LSAT prep business, started a series on other industries changed by private equity and built Grass, an app that helps users find independent American businesses.
“We hit a nerve. A lot of people were being affected by this rampant rise in costs and wanted to know what was behind it,” Kim said. “As it happens, private equity has changed a lot of industry landscapes.”
TikTok and Instagram are awash in pro-business content too, of course, as companies overall have spent $37bn on influencer marketing in 2025, one advertising trade group estimates, and private equity companies are even buying up influencer tools like Uscreen.
But the private equity criticism continues to grow. Journalist Pablo Torre and comedian Stavros Halkias have gotten hundreds of thousands of views on a YouTube video railing about Blackstone’s takeover of Jersey Mike’s Subs and financial investors in sports teams.
“If they fucking destroy the Lakers, guys with Kobe [Bryant] back tattoos are going to start the proletariat revolution,” Halkias said in Why Private Equity Shouldn’t Exist, going off news that the Los Angeles basketball team was acquired by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5bn in August. “The closest we’re getting to class consciousness is fast food and sports teams.”
Natalka Burian, owner of Elsa, a bar in Brooklyn, is among the food industry experts who are chronicling private equity’s takeover of restaurants and bakeries.
They can pay outrageous rents and snatch up the best locations, she said, which drives out businesses like her own.
“That’s money that should be going to local businesses,” Burian said. “I think there’s something about this blandness that takes away from our communities.”
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
Johnny Hilbrant Partridge kept getting stuck next to the same kind of finance guy at weddings – the one bragging about his family’s full-time nanny and lavish vacations while name-dropping elite club memberships and private schools.
To Partridge, a former fitness instructor, their shameless knack for self-promotion felt ripe for comedy. Using a filter that puts an exaggerated sneer on his face, Partridge donned a puffer vest and created “The PE Guy”, a caricature of the men who work in the private equity industry.
“All we did is acquire some youth hockey complexes, implement dynamic pricing and put some people on recurring revenue subscription models,” Partridge scoffed in a video after lawmakers introduced a bill this year to ban private equity from youth sports. “This country used to reward innovation, and suddenly it’s wrong to charge $11,000 for a development lacrosse weekend … give me a break.”
Since he first debuted the character last year, “The PE Guy” has racked up millions of views on Instagram and TikTok, becoming the most popular player in a fast-growing ecosystem skewering private equity. The multi-trillion-dollar industry has turned into a catch-all online for the ills of modern capitalism, inspiring “a day in the life” skits and parody rap music videos.
For many viewers, the draw is the dark humor, something that even the finance guys are embracing. Partridge said he gets invited to speak at insurance and private equity conferences and finance companies’ annual meetings as comic relief.
But it’s also been a way many Americans are learning how the industry, which often operates out of view and without the same oversight or regulation as publicly traded corporations, is affecting their lives.
Every business has bad actors, Partridge said, but he chose to focus on private equity because it is changing everyday things like health care so radically that “people are feeling the real impacts from it”, he said.
Private equity has found its way into everything from funeral homes to family dental offices. Once they were acquired by private equity firms, beloved chains like JoAnn Fabrics and Toys “R” Us faced bankruptcies, and many name-brands taken over by the industry have degraded in quality.
“When people say private equity, they don’t just mean the exact technical term,” said Hojung Kim, whose August Instagram post on how private equity is changing veterinary care got a million views in just two days. The term has come to represent “leveraged buyouts, hard cost-cutting in order to ruthlessly profit maximize and saddling the business with debt in order to self-enrich”.
Struck by the response, Kim, co-founder of an affordable LSAT prep business, started a series on other industries changed by private equity and built Grass, an app that helps users find independent American businesses.
“We hit a nerve. A lot of people were being affected by this rampant rise in costs and wanted to know what was behind it,” Kim said. “As it happens, private equity has changed a lot of industry landscapes.”
TikTok and Instagram are awash in pro-business content too, of course, as companies overall have spent $37bn on influencer marketing in 2025, one advertising trade group estimates, and private equity companies are even buying up influencer tools like Uscreen.
But the private equity criticism continues to grow. Journalist Pablo Torre and comedian Stavros Halkias have gotten hundreds of thousands of views on a YouTube video railing about Blackstone’s takeover of Jersey Mike’s Subs and financial investors in sports teams.
“If they fucking destroy the Lakers, guys with Kobe [Bryant] back tattoos are going to start the proletariat revolution,” Halkias said in Why Private Equity Shouldn’t Exist, going off news that the Los Angeles basketball team was acquired by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5bn in August. “The closest we’re getting to class consciousness is fast food and sports teams.”
Natalka Burian, owner of Elsa, a bar in Brooklyn, is among the food industry experts who are chronicling private equity’s takeover of restaurants and bakeries.
They can pay outrageous rents and snatch up the best locations, she said, which drives out businesses like her own.
“That’s money that should be going to local businesses,” Burian said. “I think there’s something about this blandness that takes away from our communities.”
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- Skits and parodies making fun of the trillion-dollar industry have taken over social media, racking up millions of views.
- Johnny Hilbrant Partridge kept getting stuck next to the…