Media columnist Jon Friedman at MarketWatch opined on the occasion that it was 'the best business book ever.' Friedman spoke with the authors about the two-decade history of the book and of their ensuing careers (the two undertook no further joint projects). In 2008, Harper Collins re-released Barbarians to mark the two-decade anniversary of the RJR deal. The book was adapted by Larry Gelbart for a 1993 television movie of the same name directed by Glenn Jordan. Jim Robinson, chairman and chief executive, American Express.Roberts, senior partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Henry Kravis, senior partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.Eugene Yetman, chairman of the board, RJR Nabisco.John Greeniaus, president and chief executive officer of Nabisco division of RJR Nabisco.Ted Forstmann, senior partner, Forstmann Little & Company.Peter Cohen, chairman and chief executive, Shearson Lehman Hutton.Robinson, chief financial officer of RJR Nabisco Ed Horrigan, president and chief executive officer of R.J.Ross Johnson, president and CEO, RJR Nabisco The title of the book comes from a statement by Forstmann, in which he called Kravis' money 'phoney junk bond crap' and declares him and his cousin as 'real people with real money,' also stating that to stop raiders like Kravis: 'We need to push the barbarians back from the city gates.' The unfortunate side effect of the augmented buyout price to the shareholders was the creation of a worrying level of debt for the company. Ted Forstmann and his Forstmann Little buyout firm also played a prominent role.Īfter Kravis and Johnson are unable to reconcile their differences, a bidding war took place which Johnson would eventually lose. Kravis was the first person Johnson had talked to about doing the LBO and felt betrayed after learning that Johnson wanted to do the deal with another firm, American Express's former Shearson Lehman Hutton division. Roberts, were among the pioneers of the leveraged buyout (LBO). Those opposed to Johnson's bid for the company, Henry Kravis and his cousin George R.

Barbarians at the gate film