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Then there’s the rise of private equity funds such as the Big Four of Apollo, Blackstone, Carlyle and KKR, which has amassed $2.7 trillion of assets, and are eroding the legitimacy and accountability of American capitalism, not by controlling public companies, but by taking them over entirely, and removing them from public discourse and public scrutiny. This quiet accumulation in the last few decades represents a dramatic transformation in how the American economy operates—a sea change that few of us have noticed and all of us need to consider. Harvard law professor John Coates forcefully calls our attention to what is sure to be one of the major political and economic issues of our time.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9798987053546","publication_date":"20230825","publisher":"Columbia Global Reports","slug":"the-problem-of-twelve","subtitle":"When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything","title":"The Problem of Twelve"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"BUS017010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Private Equity","score":0.7821,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"BUS070140","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Financial Services","score":0.7606,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POL042060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Capitalism & Markets","score":0.7493,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"BUS017010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Private Equity","score":0.7821,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"BUS070140","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Financial Services","score":0.7606,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POL042060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Capitalism & Markets","score":0.7493,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BUS017010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Private Equity","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"BUS029000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Free Market Thinking","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"BUS104000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Business & Economics / Corporate Governance","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Private Equity","score":0.7821,"slug":"private-equity"},{"label":"Financial Services","score":0.7606,"slug":"financial-services"},{"label":"Capitalism & Markets","score":0.7493,"slug":"capitalism-markets"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Private Equity","Good for readers interested in management","Good for fans of Economics"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Megan Greenwell","Dan Bittner","Dey Street Books"],"book_id":"9780063299351","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780063299351.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":13.279,"title":"Bad Company","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780063299351"},{"authors":["Hettie O'Brien"],"book_id":"9781538766569","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781538766569.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":13.2332,"title":"The Asset Class","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781538766569"},{"authors":["Gretchen Morgenson","Joshua Rosner"],"book_id":"9781982191283","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781982191283.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":13.2195,"title":"These Are the Plunderers","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781982191283"},{"authors":["Brendan Ballou"],"book_id":"9781541702103","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781541702103.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":13.2087,"title":"Plunder","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781541702103"},{"authors":["Oscar Perry Abello"],"book_id":"9781642833409","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781642833409.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.8877,"title":"The Banks We Deserve","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781642833409"},{"authors":["John Cassidy"],"book_id":"9780374601089","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780374601089.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.1537,"title":"Capitalism and Its Critics","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780374601089"},{"authors":["Gabriel Winant"],"book_id":"9780674292192","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780674292192.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":8.9766,"title":"Next Shift","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780674292192"},{"authors":["James M. 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