Steve Feinberg

Steve Feinberg
Born	(1960-03-29) March 29, 1960 New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Princeton University
Known for	Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cerberus Capital Management
Net worth	US$1.25 billion (April 2016)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gisella Sanchez
Children	3 daughters

Stephen A. "Steve" Feinberg (born March 29, 1960) is an American financier, who is active in hedge fund management and private equity. He is known for turning around struggling businesses and making them profitable. He is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.

Early life and education

Feinberg was raised in The Bronx, New York. When aged eight, his family moved to Spring Valley, New York, a suburb of New York City. His father was a steel salesman. He attended Princeton University and graduated with a degree in politics in 1982. While there, he captained the tennis team and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps.

Professional career

After graduating from college, Feinberg worked as a trader at Drexel Burnham in 1982 and later at Gruntal & Co..

In 1992, at the age of 32, Feinberg co-founded Cerberus Capital Management with William L. Richter. At the time the firm had $10 million under management; its assets under management have since grown to over $30 billion in 2016. In 1999, the firm hired former Vice President Dan Quayle as a Chairman of Cerberus Global Investment. In 2006, the firm hired former United States Secretary of the Treasury John Snow, who serves as a Chairman of Cerberus.

In May 2011, Feinberg stated that he believed residential mortgage-backed securities may present "a real opportunity for continued investment for quite a period of time" and that there were opportunities in buying assets from European banks.

Feinberg has been critical about the pay received by private equity executives, stating, "In general, I think that all of us are way overpaid in this business. It is almost embarrassing." He has also noted in comments made in 2011 that smaller private equity fund sizes may be better for investor returns: "If your goal is to maximize your return as opposed to assets under management, I think you can be most effective with a big company infrastructure and a little bit smaller fund size."

Feinberg has been described as "secretive" in The New York Times. In 2007, Feinberg told Cerberus shareholders, "If anyone at Cerberus has his picture in the paper and a picture of his apartment, we will do more than fire that person. We will kill him. The jail sentence will be worth it."

Political involvement

Feinberg, a major Republican donor, served as one of the top economic advisers to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. He is a member of The Business Council in Washington, DC, an association of chief executive officers from a broad range of companies. In February 2017, the New York Times reported that President Trump will assign Feinberg a role in the White House leading a review of the US intelligence agencies.

Personal

Feinberg reportedly made $50 million in 2004. His lifestyle is notably less extravagant than his peers in private equity. He splits time between his homes on Manhattan's Upper East Side and Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife Gisela (née Sanchez).