About Michael B. Kim
Who Is Michael B. Kim and What Is He Known For?
Michael B. Kim, also known as ByungJu Kim, is partner and founder of MBK Partners. In finance for more than four decades, his career spans Wall Street and private equity. Having worked across markets in the United States and Asia, he has a perspective informed by periods of both growth and disruption.
Michael's Early Life
Michael B. Kim was born in Jinhae, South Korea, and lived in Seoul until age 11, when he moved to the United States. Kim spent his formative years in New Jersey, learning to speak English by reading American novels. He later attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and earned an honors degree in English. He graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1990. He was also a Fulbright Scholar.
Career
Kim’s career began at Goldman Sachs, first in its New York office, then in Hong Kong. Finance was a field Kim initially “fell into” but learned to appreciate. A few years later, he returned to South Korea to take on the role of managing director and COO of Asia-Pacific Investment Banking for Salomon Smith Barney. It was in his role at Salomon Smith Barney that Kim led the team that played a meaningful role in managing South Korea’s sovereign financial crisis in 1998. He joined Carlyle Asia Partners as president in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1999. He was also a founding member of the global management committee that oversaw the firm’s operations and investments worldwide.
After 20 years in the financial industry, Kim left Carlyle Asia Partners and, in 2005, founded MBK Partners, where he is founding partner. With more than $33 billion in assets under management, MBK Partners has grown into the largest independent North Asian private equity firm.
Board Memberships
In addition to his investment work, Michael B. Kim has served on the boards of several educational and cultural institutions. He has also sat on boards for both of his alma maters, as a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School and the Board of Managers at Haverford College for 10 years before becoming chair in 2024.
In 2017, he became a trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he is a member of the acquisitions, human resources and investment committees, as well as the Asian Art department’s visiting committee. As a board member at Carnegie Hall, Kim co-chaired gala events, including the Stage of Legends in 2025 and the Opening Night Gala with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2022. Kim has also served as a trustee of The New York Public Library.
Philanthropy
Giving has been a focus in Michael B. Kim’s life since early in his career, especially giving back to students. In 2007, Kim founded the MBK Scholarship Foundation [When live, Terakeet will add a link to the MBK Scholarship subpage] which helps students with financial need pay for their college education. The foundation is the first of its kind in South Korea and has awarded scholarships to more than 200 students.
Kim has also given back to his alma mater. He donated $7.5 million to Haverford College in 2010 for the construction of a dormitory and $25 million in 2024 to build the Michael B. Kim Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership. The Institute is an experiential and academic initiative that is designed to help students think critically about ethics and leadership on a global scale.
Kim has made significant contributions of $10 million to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to update the Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art. He also gave over $26 million (KRW30 billion) to the Seoul Public Kim ByungJu Library with the aim of bringing paper books back in a community-based setting.
Awards
Throughout his career, Kim has been recognized for his contributions to both the financial industry and his community. In 2013, he was named Private Equity Professional of the Year by the Asian Venture Capital Journal. In 2024, he was named Market Insight’s Most Influential in Korea’s Capital Markets. He was named one of Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential in the world in 2015. In 2017, he was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Council of Korean Americans. He is a three-time honoree of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Book
Outside of his career pursuits, Michael B. Kim enjoys writing. His debut novel, Offerings, is a national bestseller. The novel follows Dae Joon as he navigates family tensions and the Asian Financial Crisis and explores themes of loyalty, greed, identity and heritage. In 2023, Kim announced that Offerings would be adapted into a movie through Anonymous Content and Anthology Studios.
As Kim looks to the future, he continues to be guided by a desire to create value that lasts for his team, investors and fellow community members. To learn more about his background and career, visit his Crunchbase and Bloomberg profiles.
More About Michael B. Kim
To learn more about Michael B. Kim, follow him on LinkedIn.