Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
The economics of partnerships have been of enduring interest to economists, yet it is not clear what profit sharing within a private partnership should look like. We examine over 700 private equity partnerships and show that the allocation of fund economics to individual partners varies drastically, even among the most senior partners, and appears divorced from past success as an investor, being instead related to status as a founder. A smaller share of carried interest and ownership—and inequality in fund economics more generally—is associated with departures of senior partners which, in turn is negatively related to the funds’ ability to raise additional capital.