Show Notes:

When wildfires, hurricanes, and other billion-dollar disasters strike, private equity firms aren’t just watching—they’re cashing in. From buying up disaster recovery companies to profiting off the fossil fuel investments that fuel climate change, these firms have turned catastrophe into a business model. But how does private equity work, and what exactly do private equity firms do? In this episode of Oddly Specific, we talk to Azani Creeks, senior research and campaign coordinator at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, to break down the high-stakes world of private equity.

From understanding the key differences between Blackstone vs. BlackRock to the ongoing debate of private equity versus investment banking, this episode exposes how these firms extract wealth, consolidate industries, and profit at multiple points in the same crisis. Azani explains how private equity plays a growing role in disaster recovery—both contributing to climate change through fossil fuel investments and cashing in on cleanup efforts.

We also discuss private equity’s increasing control over industries like healthcare, housing, and education, and what can be done to push for greater transparency and accountability. Let’s keep the conversation going—follow Oddly Specific and tell a friend to tell a friend about private equity!

 

Chapters and Markers

00:00 Welcome and Announcements

00:21 Live Show Dates and Social Media Workshops

01:35 Introduction to Private Equity Stakeholder Project

03:07 What is Private Equity?

03:55 Blackstone vs. BlackRock

07:41 Private Equity and Climate Disasters

14:42 Private Equity in Disaster Recovery

32:03 Conclusion and Thank You

Resources & Links:

Live Show - LA May 8: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/friends-only-tickets-1278304265469

Live Show- Boston June 25 & June 26: https://lilchuckboston.com/friends-only-live-with-meredith-lynch-molly-mcaleer-and-rob-schulte/

Sign Up for Social Media Workshops: Email me at meredithcollabs at gmail.com

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP): https://pestakeholder.org/

Private Equity Climate Risk Scorecard: https://peclimaterisks.org/2024scorecard/

Hospital Ownership Tracker: https://pestakeholder.org/private-equity-hospital-tracker/

PESP Report on Private Equity in Education & Childcare: https://pestakeholder.org/reports/making-the-grade-private-equity-privatization-and-the-future-of-american-education/

More Perfect Union + Meredith Lynch- When Private Equity Is Your Landlord: https://www.tiktok.com/@moreperfectunion/video/7471033140279053598

Gretchen Morganson’s Book These Are the Plunderers: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/These-Are-the-Plunderers/Gretchen-Morgenson/9781982191290

 

Meredith: Hi everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Oddly Specific. It's the podcast that covers everything from private equity to Pete Davidson. I'm your host Meredith Lynch, and while I actually do have a private equity episode for you today that I think is incredibly important, and I know you're gonna be interested in, I also have a few announcements.

Meredith: Firstly, I have three live show dates. This is a live pod recording that I'm doing with my friends, Molly McAleer and Rob Schulte, and they're fantastic friends and so are all of you, which is why we're calling the show friends only.

Meredith: It's an IRL night with your chronically online besties. We have special guests, we have hot takes. So many things that we can only say friends only. Okay, dates. Los Angeles on May 8th. We are at West Side Comedy doing the show and we can't wait to see you there. We have meet and greets available for that.

Meredith: And then Boston, we are in your city, June 25th and June 26th at Little Chuck in the theater district. Ticket links are in all the bios of my social media platforms. I will also link them here in the show notes. Would love to see you there and stay tuned 'cause we're working on adding more cities to this little tour.

Meredith: Also signups for my next round of social media workshops. That kickoff in late April are officially open. We are doing a Tuesday night and a Friday AM workshop, so shoot me an email if you want additional information on those. These are six week small group sessions that I love doing, and we work on a really personalized approach of how to grow your channels.

Meredith: Now let's get into today's episode. This week I have on Azani Creeks, a senior research and campaign coordinator at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project where she has written about private equity's impact on workers, students, incarcerated people, and more. Azani is based in Brooklyn, New York, and if the Private Equity Stakeholder Project sounds familiar to you, it's because they are. They are a nonprofit watchdog organization focused on the growing private equity and broader private funds industry. 

Meredith: You might remember we've actually had on Azani's colleague, Michael Fenne, talking about veterinary care and prisons and healthcare in previous episodes.

Meredith: And we're really excited to have you meet Azani. So without further ado, let's get Oddly Specific. 

Meredith: Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Oddly Specific, the only podcast that covers everything from private equity to Pete Davidson. I'm your host Meredith Lynch and y'all we have a fantastic guest for you today. We have a private equity episode. I've been promising you a private equity episode.

Meredith: I'm giving you a private equity episode. I have Azani Creeks with us here today from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. You know about them because we've had Azani's colleague Michael Fenne on before. I know y'all love him. I'm really excited for y'all to meet Azani. 

Meredith: Azani, welcome to the podcast.

Azani: Thank you. It's great to be here.

Meredith: It's great to have you here. So I always start off these private equity episodes, especially when I have an expert like you here. I always start them off by asking folks what exactly is private equity?

Azani: Great question. So private equity firms are large investment managers, which pool funding mostly from institutional investors, such as pension funds or foundations, sometimes wealthy individuals. This money is then pooled and then used to invest in companies, different than how we invest on the public stock market. So, for example, you and I could go buy a share of Amazon stock or a share of Walmart stock. That is not possible with private equity-owned companies. Those investments are held privately by these large firms which manage billions and billions of dollars.

Meredith: Yeah. Something I've been seeing over the last week actually on social media is some confusion around the difference between two specific entities, Blackstone and BlackRock. Would you be able to just walk us through what the difference is between Blackstone and Blackrock? Because I've been trying to tell people like, first of all, they're just different. They're different. Also the way that they operate is actually different. So I wonder if you could just walk us through that, using that example.

Azani: Yeah, exactly. So Blackstone, is an example of a private equity firm, kind of in the most traditional sense that we talk about. So Blackstone, for example, will go to your local pension fund and ask them for a commitment of say, $50 million. They'll get that commitment from the pension fund and then use that money to invest in a company. Blackstone will then hold that company for, you know, anywhere from five to seven years, and try to sell the company at the end, making a large profit and large returns for their investors. Those investments are kind of locked in and the investors that have given Blackstone that money, such as the pension fund, don't really have any kind of control over how their money is invested.

Azani: BlackRock is also a large investment manager, but it doesn't really work in quite the same way. They don't necessarily do these funds and, you know, go ask pension funds for money. It is more of a typical stock investment. It fluctuates much more. It's not that they're holding a company for a certain length of time and trying to squeeze out all the profits as quickly as possible. They're a much more flexible investor. And yeah, it's just a different structure. It is all technically private, you know, in the sense that we can't, as regular people, invest in BlackRock either, but the points of leverage that we have and the investors that do invest in those two are, are a bit different.

Meredith: And so if you wanna answer this, you can, and if you don't, that's okay. But I feel like in the, in the in the minutia of it all, there is a big difference when you confuse Blackstone and BlackRock. 

Azani: There is, yeah, there is. 

Meredith: People were telling me they were like, meh, Meredith. Potato. Potato, that's a little nuanced. And I was like, Just because private equity is my special interest doesn't mean that, and listen y'all, I am not speaking for Azani, b