John Kerry joining TPG’s Rise Fund
John Kerry, secretary of state under President Barack Obama, will become a senior adviser to a private equity firm’s fund that focuses on social investing, according to a published report.
The one-time Massachusetts senator will be joined in TPG Growth's Rise Fund by Arne Duncan, Obama’s education secretary, and prominent Democrat Rich Levin, an economist and former Yale University president, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Among other prominent Democrats who have gone to Wall Street after politics are former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, a personal injury lawyer who worked from 2005 to 2007 as a consultant for Fortress Investment Group, a New York-based firm known mainly for its hedge funds.
Kerry’s compensation was not immediately disclosed, but the firm told Fox Business that it compensates senior advisers in such a way that it aligns with performance.
The fund, which was founded by U2 frontman Bono, is advised by billionaire Richard Branson and Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, as well as others. Also, Bono is co-chair of the Rise Fund's board.
The Rise Fund is managed by TPG Growth, TPG’s global growth equity and middle market buyout platform. TPG Growth founder and managing partner Bill McGlashan, Bono and Jeff Skoll, a global entrepreneur, film producer and impact investor, co-founded the Rise Fund.
“The private sector is the best bet we have to try to save us from the worst downsides of some of these social, environmental, political challenges we face on a global basis,” Kerry said.
Kerry will help identify investments and advise portfolio companies across Rise’s various sectors, with a focus on renewable energy opportunities.
“Foreign policy and economic policy are closely linked, and businesses that can empower people with job opportunities, create better access to health care and education, and develop more sustainable energy and infrastructure systems are essential to social stability,” Kerry said in a Bloomberg interview
As of 2016, there was almost $23 trillion of globally assets professionally managed under responsible investment strategies according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. Rise closed in October after reaching its $2 billion goal.