Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the US private equity firm, paid its 500 staff $1.3 billion (£690 million) in 2007 and $106.3 million in the first quarter of 2008. KKR’s owners received the bulk of these so-called distributions from the group’s investment profits and management fees and a large part of the collective payment is understood to have been made to Henry Kravis and George Roberts, who co-founded the group in 1976 and own by far the largest number of shares.

Separately, yesterday’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of the group’s proposed flotation this year, revealed that KKR has turned $43.1 billion into $87.1 billion since its inception. Some $59.7 billion of this has come from profits on investments already sold, with the remaining $27.4 billion based on holdings that KKR still owns.

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