A Day in the Life -- The Private Equity Industry -- How does the Private Equity Industry Work? -- The Poor Investment Results -- Private Equity and the Holy Grail -- The High Fees -- The Customers -- The Staffs -- The Enablers -- The Fellow Travelers -- In Closing.

This paper offers a quantitative description of European private equity markets and compares the recent development in these markets with the development of the US venture capital market. Moreover, the paper addresses the differences between private equity investors acting in a single national...