Wikipedia

Michael Kim (businessman)

Michael ByungJu Kim (Korean: 김병주, born 1963) is an American billionaire businessman of South Korean origin.[2][3] He is the founder and chairman of MBK Partners, a North Asian private equity firm with offices in Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. He has been called the "Godfather of Asian private equity".[4][5]

Michael B. Kim
Born
Kim Byung Ju

October 1963 (age 62)
Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
Other nameMichael ByungJu Kim
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationHaverford College
Harvard Business School (MBA)
OccupationsFounder, MBK Partners, Philanthropist
SpousePark Kyung-ah
Children2
Korean name
Hangul
김병주
Hanja
金秉奏
[1]
RRGim Byeongju
MRKim Pyŏngju

He has been named one of Bloomberg's 50 most influential people[6] in the world and Forbes Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy.[7]

Early life and education

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Michael B. Kim was born in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea in 1963.[8] Kim graduated from Haverford College in 1985 with a BA in English Literature. He then went on to earn his MBA from Harvard Business School.[9]

Career

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Kim began his career as a mergers and acquisitions banker at Goldman Sachs. In 1995, he joined Salomon Smith Barney, where he became a managing director and COO of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking. He later joined the Carlyle Group as president of Carlyle Asia until 2005.[3]

Kim left Carlyle to found MBK Partners in 2005, which has since grown to over $30 billion in assets under management,[10] raising $6.5 billion for its most recent Fund V, becoming the largest independent private equity firm in Asia.[11] Under Kim's leadership, MBK Partners was named one of Time's World's Best Companies of 2024.[12][13]

Kim chairs the Haverford College board of managers, as well as the MBK Scholarship Foundation.[14] He also sits on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library, and Carnegie Hall.[15][14]

Kim is the author of a novel, Offerings, published in 2020.[16] In 2022, the novel was named a U.S. best-selling novel, and in October 2023, it was announced that it would be adapted into a film and produced by Anonymous Content and Anthology Studios.[17]

In October 2025, Kim again faced allegations of tax evasion during an audit by the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee. Lawmakers claimed that "Kim [had] earned significant profits domestically while paying little to no taxes", and called for a tax investigation; Kim and MBK Partners denied the allegations, saying it had fully complied with Korean laws.[18]

Philanthropy

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In 2010, Kim pledged $7.5 million toward the construction of a new dormitory at Haverford College. The dorm was named "Kim Hall" in honor of his father, Kim Ki Yong.[19][14]

In August 2021, Kim pledged KRW30 billion ($27 million) to the Seoul Metropolitan Government to build a public library in Seoul. Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced Seoul would honor the gift by naming the library after the donor, The Seoul Public Kim ByungJu Library. The gift was reported to represent the first-ever donation by an individual for the construction of a civic institution in Seoul.[20]

In September 2022, Kim donated $10 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum stated it would name a gallery after Kim and his wife, the Michael B. Kim and Kyung Ah Park Gallery, the first gallery in the museum to be named after a person of Korean descent.[21]

In April 2024, Kim donated $25 million to Haverford College (equal to the largest single gift the school had ever received) to establish an Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership and to fund related faculty positions.[19][22]

Personal life

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Kim is married to Park Kyung-ah, the daughter of Park Tae-joon, the late South Korean Prime Minister and founder of South Korea's largest steel company, POSCO. The couple have two children and live in Seoul.[10]

Honors and recognition

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  • 2013, Awarded Asian Venture Capital Journal's “Private Equity Professional of the Year”[23]
  • 2017, Awarded “Philanthropist of the Year” by the Council of Korean Americans[24]
  • 2015, Named one of Bloomberg Markets “The 50 Most Influential”[25]
  • 2021, Named one of Forbes’ “Asia’s 2021 Heroes of Philanthropy”[26]
  • 2022, Named one of Forbes’ “Asia’s 2022 Heroes of Philanthropy”[27]
  • 2024, Voted “Most Influential in Korea’s Capital Market” by Market Insight[28]
  • 2024 Named one of Forbes’ “Asia’s 2024 Heroes of Philanthropy”[29]

References

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  1. ↑ "美금융업체 칼라일그룹 한국에 10억弗투자 추진". Munhwa Ilbo. 29 May 1999. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "MBK chief Michael ByungJu Kim avoids arrest, but legal proceedings remain". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  3. 1 2 Lee, Yoolim; Chan, Cathy (4 February 2015). "Korea's Michael Kim Leads Buyout Surge as Foreign Firms Return". Bloomberg News.
  4. ↑ Horne, Jackie. "Michael Kim: Godfather of Asian private equity". FinanceAsia.
  5. ↑ Davies, Christian (18 August 2022). "How South Korea learned to love private equity". Financial Times.
  6. ↑ "Power, Money, and Ideas: Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential People". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  7. ↑ Watson, Rana Wehbe. "Asia's 2022 Heroes Of Philanthropy". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  8. ↑ "MBK 사람들…'강력한 1인' 김병주와 화려한 참모". Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 12 December 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "About Michael B. Kim | Haverford College". www.haverford.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  10. 1 2 "Forbes profile: Michael Kim". Forbes. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "South Korea's MBK Partners raises $4.1b for its fourth fund". www.dealstreetasia.com.
  12. ↑ "World's Best Companies of 2024". TIME. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  13. ↑ Global, KED. "MBK Partners named as Time World's Best Companies - KED Global". KED Global. Archived from the original on 2025-07-24. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  14. 1 2 3 Choi, Jasmine (2024-04-30). "Michael ByungJu Kim Donates US$25 Million to Alma Mater Haverford College". Businesskorea (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  15. ↑ Min-kyung, Jung (2022-09-07). "MBK chairman to donate $10m to New York's Met Museum". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
  16. ↑ Kim, Michael Byung Ju (24 March 2020). Offerings : a novel. New York. ISBN 978-1-950691-62-3. OCLC 1132243427.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ↑ Frater, Patrick (2023-10-06). "'Riceboy Sleeps' Director Anthony Shim to Direct 'Offerings' Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  18. ↑ Jun Ji-hye (October 17, 2025). "MBK rejects tax evasion allegations against chairman". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  19. 1 2 "Haverford College receives $25M gift, tied for school's largest ever". Philadelphia Business Journal. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  20. ↑ "Michael ByungJu Kim Donates KRW 30 Bn to Build Public Library in Seoul".
  21. ↑ "MBK Partners chairman donates $10 million to the Met". 7 September 2022.
  22. ↑ Snyder, Susan (April 24, 2024). "Haverford College is getting $25 million from 'the godfather of Asian private equity' for an institute on ethics". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  23. ↑ "Asia Awards: PE Professional of the Year - Michael Kim | AVCJ". www.avcj.com. 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  24. ↑ 기자, 박노경 (2017-10-23). "차세대 정치력 신장에 CKA 역할 기대". Manna 24. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  25. ↑ "Power, Money, and Ideas: Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential People". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  26. ↑ Watson, Rana Wehbe. "ASIA'S 2021 HEROES OF PHILANTHROPY". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  27. ↑ Watson, Rana Wehbe. "Asia's 2022 Heroes Of Philanthropy". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  28. ↑ Global, K. E. D. "MBK's Michael ByungJu Kim: Most influential in Korea's capital market". KED Global. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  29. ↑ Watson, Rana Wehbe. "Forbes Asia's 2024 Heroes Of Philanthropy". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
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