Nate Koppikar never thought he’d be talking to the investors in his hedge fund about Kim Kardashian. Or, to put it in financial jargon, there was a “low but non-zero probability” that her name would come up in a letter. But then, he notes, Kardashian “is not just a reality TV star anymore. Now she’s a private equity titan.”And Koppikar’s fund, Orso Partners, has a big short on private equity.Last fall, Kardashian launched private equity fund SKKY Partners with former Carlyle Group executive Jay Sammons. Less than a month later, Kardashian settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for promoting a crypto token without disclosing that she’d been paid to do so.To Koppikar’s mind, Kardashian’s move into private equity was a red flag, a “sure sign that the top is in for the illiquid private asset class.” The easy-money environment of recent years had made investing seem almost effortless, leading private investors to forsake due diligence for hanging out with celebrities — and using them to pitch their wares, he argues. Raising money was all that mattered. San Francisco-based Orso, the short-dedicated hedge fund Koppikar launched in 2019 with Scott Matagrano, keeps a running tally of celebrities involved in
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Short Seller Nate Koppikar Has Taken on Blackstone, Facebook, and the Tiger Cubs. He's …
