The Money with Katie Show The $175K Factory Worker: What Happens When Employees Own Stock
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Apr 30, 2025 Pete Stavros, co-head of global private equity at KKR, champions employee ownership through ESOPs, aiming to reshape workplace culture and boost productivity. He discusses how bringing ownership to workers can combat wage stagnation and wealth inequality. With case studies like CHI Overhead Doors and Lux Weavers, Pete highlights the benefits of shared equity in fostering engagement. He also tackles the skepticism surrounding employee ownership in private equity, advocating for authentic leadership to bridge the empathy gap between executives and employees.
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Genuine Leadership Drives Culture
- Genuine leadership that aims to lift up employees creates culture shifts and financial benefits.
- Efforts purely to tweak productivity without sincerity backfire and fail to improve engagement or reduce quit rates.
CHI Overhead Doors ESOP Success
- CHI Overhead Doors distributed around $140 million to employees through an ESOP after a PE sale.
- Some tenured workers received payouts equal to 5.5 times their annual salary, hugely impacting their lives.
ESOPs Address Wealth Gap
- ESOPs were created by Congress in 1974 to give workers ownership and curb growing inequality.
- Ownership helps workers benefit from capital appreciation, not just wages, to thrive economically.
