Forms part of the United States District Court Oral History Project.
Collection is open for research.
Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. was born in New York in 1925. He attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, then was called to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After his discharge, he attended Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA. He also earned a law degree from Columbia University. He came to Oregon after graduating from law school and clerked for Judge Gus Solomon of the U.S. District Court of Oregon. He and Nancy Seiffer were married in 1949; they later had four children. He joined Bear Stearns in 1955 and founded the Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts investment firm (also known as KKR & Co.) in 1976. He died in 2015.
Forms part of the United States District Court Oral History Project.
Oral history interview with Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., by Michael O'Rourke, SR 1254, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Oral history interview with Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., by Jim Strassmaier, SR 1229, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. was conducted by Michael O'Rourke at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, New York, from May 19-20, 1999. In this interview, Kohlberg discusses his experiences as a law clerk for Judge Gus Solomon from 1952 to 1953, including some of the cases Solomon heard, and Solomon's commitment to helping Jewish lawyers. He also briefly describes many of the lawyers and judges he met while in Portland, Oregon. He then talks about returning to New York to practice law and his continued relationship with Gus Solomon and Libby Solomon. He speaks at length about purchasing Fred Meyer in 1981 through his investment firm, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts (KKR & Co.), including his interactions with Fred G. Meyer, Oran B. Robertson, and Gerry Pratt. He closes the interview by briefly discussing how KKR has continued to manage Fred Meyer since its purchase.
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: