Wealth & Money Quote by Henry Kravis

Kravis is puncturing the hero myth of dealmaking: the market loves the headline of an acquisition, but he’s insisting the only meaningful measure is the exit. The line works because it flips the applause cue. Buying is theater; selling is accountability.

The intent is part humility, part warning. In private equity’s public imagination, “buy” reads as power - a conquistador moment. Kravis reframes it as the easiest part, even the most dangerous part, because the act of purchase can be fueled by vanity, cheap credit, and other people’s money. “Any fool can overpay” is doing a lot of work: it’s a jab at ego-driven CEOs, at frothy markets where valuations detach from reality, and at an industry that can mistake leverage for genius.

Subtext: capital is not intelligence. When “money will last,” you can brute-force a deal and still look brilliant for a news cycle. The real skill is disciplined pricing, operational improvement, and timing the sale into a receptive market - the unglamorous grind that determines whether the acquisition was craft or just consumption.

Context matters. Kravis helped define the modern leveraged buyout era, where debt can amplify returns and also magnify mistakes. In that world, congratulating buyers rewards risk-taking without results; congratulating sellers rewards realized value. It’s also an internal cultural message: don’t fall in love with the hunt, don’t confuse activity with performance, and don’t let the industry’s applause push you into paying tomorrow’s profits for today’s bragging rights.