[1] He is a co-founder of KKR & Co. Inc. His lavish lifestyle has been criticized by activists looking to reform private equity regulations and restrict the practice of leveraged buyouts he pioneered.

[6][7] After working at various jobs in New York City's financial sector, he and his first cousin, George R. Roberts,[8] joined the staff of Bear Stearns.

Working for Bear Stearns in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kravis, alongside Kohlberg and Roberts, began a series of what they described as "bootstrap" investments.

In the following years, Kohlberg and later Kravis and Roberts would complete a series of buyouts including Stern Metals (1965), Incom (a division of Rockwood International, 1971), Cobblers Industries (1971), and Boren Clay (1973) as well as Thompson Wire, Eagle Motors and Barrows through their investment in Stern Metals.

[12] By 1978, with the revision of the ERISA regulations, the nascent KKR was successful in raising its first institutional fund with approximately $30 million of investor commitments.

[13] In 1987, Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. resigned from KKR, and Henry Kravis and George Roberts continued to lead the firm.

The publicity surrounding the event led to the story being dramatized in the book and film, Barbarians at the Gate.

[16] In early 1995, KKR divested its remaining holdings in RJR Nabisco, taking an overall loss on the deal.

[17] The list of companies in which Henry Kravis's KKR has invested over the years includes health care provider Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), TXU,[18] Playtex,[19] Beatrice Foods,[20] Safeway,[21] Toys "R" Us,[22] Borden, First Data[23] and Regal Entertainment Group.

[11] This succession plan was enacted in October 2021, with Kravis and Roberts stepping down from their positions as co-CEOs but continuing as co-executive chairmen.

[30] Kravis is currently married to a prominent Canadian economist, and former columnist and TV personality in Canada, Marie-Josée Drouin.

Kravis is a benefactor and a past chairman of New York's public television station and sits on the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kravis previously co-chaired with Jerry Speyer the influential Partnership for New York City, founded by David Rockefeller in 1979, and now sits on its board of directors.