Can Kim Kardashian save private equity?

• SuperReturn conference gets underway at a time of challenges for private equity.
• Kim Kardashian joins Harvey Schwartz, Orlando Bravo, and other leaders in speaking at the conference.

Private equity's biggest party of the year has just kicked off, but there's not a whole lot to celebrate.

Sure, a number of firms are finding lucrative opportunities in private credit as traditional lenders pull back. But dealmaking has been dormant, and the US economy, the world's biggest, is expected to hit the brakes soon.

The uncertainty has made it more difficult for both private equity and venture capital firms to raise money for their funds. Private capital fundraising worldwide this year totaled just $211 billion as of March 31, off sharply from the pace in 2022, when $1.24 trillion was raised, and down from $1.56 billion in 2021, according to PitchBook.

So the mood may be somber in Berlin as the stars of the private markets arrive this week for the annual SuperReturn International conference. Carlyle's Harvey Schwartz and David Rubenstein, Julian Salisbury of Goldman Sachs, Robert Smith of Vista Equity Partners, Orlando Bravo of Thoma Bravo, and Bennett Goodman, one of the founders of Blackstone's credit arm, are among the scheduled speakers at the five-day conference. Those are bold-faced names in Wall Street's world, but they can't compete with the star power of another conference speaker: Kim Kardashian.

She and her fellow co-founder and co-managing partner of the private-equity firm SKKY Partners, Jay Sammons, will be interviewed by Rubenstein on Wednesday on "the next generation of consumer brands."

It's not the most auspicious time for consumer brands, as consumer spending, while currently steady, is expected to slow in the US. SKKY is looking to raise a $1 billion fund, its first fund, Bloomberg reported in May.

Kardashian and Sammons announced in September the founding of the firm, which "will make both control and minority investments in growth-oriented, market-leading consumer and media companies."

What can we expect?

Sammons, for one, has a proven record, leading Carlyle's investments in brands like Beats By Dre and Supreme during his 16 years at the firm.

And Kardashian brings something special. The Financial Times' Lex column noted in September that "she already has a record of transmuting her social capital into financial capital," pointing to her success with the shapewear brand she co-founded, Skims.

It remains to be seen if private equity can keep up.