Richard C. Perry

American hedge fund manager

Richard C. Perry

Born|  (1955-02-09) February 9, 1955 (age 70)
Nationality| American
Education| The Wharton School (BA)
New York University Stern School of Business (MBA)
Occupation| Hedge fund manager
Known for| Founder of Perry Capital LLC
Spouse| Lisa Rachel Newberger
Parent(s)| Merel Cayne Perry
Arnold Bernard Perry
Family| James Cayne (uncle)
David Perry (brother)

Richard Cayne Perry (born February 9, 1955)[1] is an American hedge fund manager whose firm, Perry Capital LLC (closed in 2016) invested in several companies and, starting in 2012, owned a controlling interest in Barneys New York. Perry sold his controlling interest in Barneys New York in August 2019.[2]

## Early life and education

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Perry was born the son of Merel (née Cayne) and Arnold Perry (1925–2001).[1][3] He was raised in Chicago. His mother, who ran a small import business, is the sister of former Bear Stearns C.E.O. James Cayne; his father, Arnold, ran several firms including a book publisher and a business-machine company.[1][4] He moved to Manhattan at the age of 10 and when he was 13, his parents divorced.[1] He attended the Allen-Stevenson School all-boys' private grade school in Manhattan and then high school at the Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, graduating in 1973.[5] He attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a B.A. in 1977.[1] While attending Penn, his father was able to secure him an internship at Goldman Sachs where he worked directly under one of its partners, L. Jay Tenenbaum.[1] After graduation, he was hired by Goldman Sachs on an equity options trading desk.[1] During this time, Perry earned a M.B.A. at night from NYU's Business School.[1]

## Career

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He moved to the equity-arbitrage desk at Goldman Sachs run by Robert Rubin. During this time he was Rubin's teaching assistant at NYU Stern and even babysat Rubin's children.[6][7] He eventually left to form Perry Capital in 1988.

Perry's first major investment was Florists' Transworld Delivery (FTD), which Perry Capital acquired in 1994 for $130 million. Among his actions was installing Meg Whitman as the C.E.O. In 2004, he sold his stake in the company for $450 million.[1]

In 2005, he was among the investors providing a loan of $512 million for Malcolm Glazer to purchase British football team Manchester United.[1]

In May 2012, Perry's firm acquired ownership of Barneys. Perry was the store's biggest creditor and in the takeover reduced Barneys's $590 million debt to $50 million. Perry's firm gained three seats on the seven-member board of directors, including former majority owner Istithmar World, new investor Yucaipa Companies, and Barneys's current C.E.O. Mark Lee.[8]

From 2014, Perry Capital LLC became a major shareholder in the ailing Cooperative Bank in Manchester, UK, with a seat on the Board.[9]

Over the fund's first two decades, Perry posted an average return of 15 percent, peaking at $15.5 billion in assets in 2007.[10] In September 2016, Perry announced he would be closing his hedge fund after assets under management fell 60% between late 2014 and 2016.[11] In August 2019, Barneys New York was "sold for parts" to Authentic Brands Group and he ceased to be the company's majority owner.[2]

## Personal life

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In 1985, he married Lisa Rachel Newberger in Manhattan.[12] They reside in a remodeled 17-room townhouse on New York City's Sutton Place. He purchased the property in 2000 for $10.9 million. The domicile is filled with some of the best examples of Pop art, which have inspired the clothing style of his wife.[1] In November 2019, he put a residential property in Palm Beach, Florida up for sale, after purchasing it in May 2018 with his wife and remodeling it.[2]

Perry is an ardent supporter of Democratic Party-associated causes, institutions, and people, including President Obama. Perry serves as a board member of the Israel Project and in 2010 co-hosted along with Seth Klarman an event for Ziad Asali, the founder and president of the American Task Force on Palestine.[13]

Perry’s brother, David Perry, was the founder and CEO of TeamCo Advisors, a San Francisco based hedge fund advisor that announced its closure in 2017.[14]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Vickers, Marcia (2008-10-07). "Looking for Trouble". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2013-02-16. "At 53 he is one of the most successful investors of our time.."
2. ^ a b c Barron's accessed November 10, 2019
3. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths Perry, Arnold - The Jewish Center of the Hamptons notes with sadness the passing of Arnold Perry, beloved father of Richard Perry". The New York Times. August 23, 2001.
4. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths PERRY, ARNOLD BERNARD". The New York Times. August 20, 2001.
5. ^ "Sarah Sze Creates "The Edge of One of Many Circles"". Milton.edu. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
6. ^ "Richard C. Perry". Nndb.com. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
7. ^ "Richard C. Perry Profile - Forbes.com". People.forbes.com. 2009-07-21. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. ^ "The Co-operative Bank plc - Governance". www.co-operativebank.co.uk.
10. ^ Mehta, Shiv (28 September 2016). "Perry Capital to Shut Down its Flagship Hedge Fund". Investopedia. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
11. ^ Chung, Juliet (26 September 2016). "Hedge Funds Take Another Punch to Gut". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
12. ^ New York Times: "R. C. PERRY WED TO LISA NEWMAN" November 10, 1985
13. ^ The Tablet: "Richard Perry’s Pet Projects - The new owner of Barney’s has also entered the Israel fray" By Allison Hoffman December 13, 2012
14. ^ Delevingne, Lawrence (25 September 2017). "Exclusive - Perry's TeamCo is latest hedge fund industry casualty". Reuters. Retrieved 12 November 2018.