Originally published in Nikkei Asia's “Henry Kravis: My Personal History"
Chapter 29
30 years with my soul mate
2024 is a big milestone year for me. I turned 80, my wife Marie-Josée reaches 75, and it marks 30 years since we got married. Our wedding day is tied with the births of my three children as the best days of my life.
She was a prominent economist in Canada, and we became acquainted in 1991. We were both married at that time. But our relationship deepened in 1993 when fate reunited us at the Bilderberg Meeting in Vouliagmeni, a seaside suburb south of Athens in Greece. It was a part of the annual series of private meetings of political leaders and experts from industry, finance, academia, and the media.
"How are you?" I asked her. "Oh, I'm fine, except, unfortunately, I'm getting divorced," she replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. So am I," I added.
She had separated from her husband, and I had also separated from my second wife.
Since we were both headed to the U.K. next, we flew to London together. We had dinner and that ended up being our first date.
I started traveling from New York to Montreal, where she lived, as often as I could.
In January 1994, she rented a small private museum in Paris and threw a surprise 50th birthday party for me with our friends. Of course, George (Roberts, KKR co-founder) was there, as he has been for all of my big moments.
But I had my own surprise for her. I had a ring ready that night. I proposed, and she accepted. It was by far the best and most memorable birthday in my personal history. We married the following month.
Marie-Josée was a very accomplished journalist and economist. She's brilliant, which I love. I can talk to her about anything. She is curious about the world around her. When we married, she could have had a top position at the Bank of Canada, the central bank, but she gave it up because being in that position while being married to me could have been problematic.
But that didn't slow her down or lessen her impact on the world. She instead dove into the arts and sciences. Today, she is the chair of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York and also serves as the vice-chair of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, one of the world's premier cancer centers, in New York. She is also the chair of the Sloan Kettering Institute, the cancer center's research arm.
If I were to describe her in a few words, the first would be "brilliant," as evidenced by her starting university at 14. Next would be "compassionate," as she is full of empathy. Lastly, "beautiful." I would also add "kind" and say she is the most "curious" person I have ever met.
Marie-Josée has built a good relationship with my children, even though at first it must have been hard to do so as a stepmother. Our six grandchildren call me "grandpa," but Marie-Josée insists that they call her "MJ" instead of "grandma."
George was blessed with three children and 10 grandchildren. It was unfortunate that he was widowed in 2003, when his wife, Leanne Bovet, passed away, but he happily remarried in 2010 to Linnea Conrad, who was well-versed in the technology industry and a partner at Goldman Sachs.
They met after a mutual friend of George and Linnea suggested the two meet. "Let me see your grip," George told her on their first date, hoping to take her out to a round of golf. George, who has a 6-handicap, is an excellent golfer. He was ready to pull out all the stops to win her heart from the first moment they met.
Their May wedding was held at Pebble Beach, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean -- an extraordinary view. They asked me to officiate the ceremony, a first for me. I was an ordained minister for a single day.
As mentioned before, family is central to my life. George and I are cousins, sharing the same grandfather, and KKR is an extension of our family. KKR can be described in many ways as a family business. We've maintained a culture of helping each other in tough times and sharing in our successes and failures, much like in our personal family life.
We hope this never changes. When we chose Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall as co-CEOs in 2021, it was very important that they lived by our culture. A culture is the core of any company, and we hope KKR's culture remains the same after Joe and Scott are succeeded by the next generation of chief executives and even 50 years from now.