Even after the move, Trott kept his focus on rich families, with Midwestern fortunes a specialty.

“I loved bringing the investing and investment banking disciplines together and soon realised the value added that I could provide, especially to entrepreneurs and the leaders of family-owned companies,” Trott said in a 2011 biographical sketch for his acceptance into the Horatio Alger Association. “It didn’t take long to realise that I had found my passion.”

Trott made a name for himself orchestrating a series of deals for Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, prompting the Omaha billionaire to praise him in a letter to investors.

“He understands Berkshire far better than any investment banker with whom we have talked and – it hurts me to say this – earns his fee,” Buffett wrote in 2004. Trott rose to become vice chairman of investment banking at Goldman Sachs and headed its Chicago office.

In 2008, Trott pulled off one of the most consequential deals in modern Wall Street history, negotiating Berkshire’s $US5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs during the peak of the financial crisis, helping shore up the bank’s capital base and restore market confidence.

Waltons, Kochs

His Rolodex, though, extended far beyond Buffett. The Waltons, Kochs, Wrigleys and Pritzkers have all been linked to Trott, and many of these dynasties have invested in BDT’s funds, sold parts of their business to the private equity firm, or both.

Trott co-founded the firm with William Bush, previously a lawyer at Fulbright & Jaworski. Other long-time partners include fellow Goldman alumni San Orr and Dan Jester. It continues to draw heavily on the bank for talent – LinkedIn data show 28 individuals working for BDT who previously worked at Goldman. The company also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, London and Frankfurt, and employs 157 people, according to a filing.

While other large private equity firms have moved away from reliance on one person, BDT remains largely synonymous with Trott.

That’s not deterring investors. BDT raised $US9.1 billion for its third investment fund last year. Since the Weber deal was struck in 2010, the firm’s assets under management have grown to about $US28 billion at the start of 2021, just shy of the $US32 billion managed by Bridgepoint Group, which went public last month at a valuation of about $US4 billion.

Trott owns at least 50 per cent of BDT, according to the Bloomberg wealth index, and is estimated to have more than $US1.7 billion personally invested in its funds.

Weber was the second BDT portfolio company to go public this year, following Krispy Kreme’s debut. BDT holds an 8.6 per cent stake in the doughnut-maker. The grill maker raised $US250 million, lower than expected, but the shares jumped 18 per cent on Thursday and added another 10 per cent on Friday.

The 11-year-old Weber stake illustrates a longer investment horizon than is typical in private equity. The firm’s 2009 fund has other active investments including in publicly traded Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., acquired through a deal with JAB Holdings’ Reimann family.

BDT has “a culture of being a sophisticated thought partner for family-run businesses,” Pritzker said. “That includes confidentiality. It’s a huge deal there – it creates a framework of trust.”