Report examines LAUSD tech spending, contracts with investor-backed firms A new report finds billions in LAUSD tech contracts, including many private equity- or venture-backed firms, as experts and advocates debate oversight, costs and classroom priorities.

The latest report from the PESP labor team raises a crucial question for LAUSD and school districts across the country: are private equity-backed education contracts doing more for students, or for Wall Street? www.dailynews.com/2026/04/17/r...

Private equity’s autism therapy boom is straining Medicaid Private equity firms have rapidly expanded into autism therapy services, scaling a Medicaid-funded model that is driving up costs while audits across multiple states have uncovered widespread billing…

Private equity is reshaping autism therapy—and Medicaid is footing the bill.

New report: PE firms have acquired 500+ centers, while audits across multiple states found widespread billing and oversight issues.

$77.8M (CO)
$56M (IN)
Up to $94.3M (WI)

pestakeholder.org/reports/priv...

Wall Street in the Wolverine State: How Private Equity Is Affecting Workers, Healthcare, Housing, and Communities As of 2024, Michigan was among the ten states with the largest increase in the share of its private sector workforce employed by private equity-controlled companies.

Private equity-owned companies now employ 10% of Michigan's private sector workforce in industries ranging from healthcare and manufacturing to waste removal and education services. Companies owned by private equity firms have been associated with patterns of labor disputes, layoffs, and bankruptcy.

On Tax Day:

From 2013–2018, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman paid about 22.3% on reported income.

Including wealth growth, his effective rate was just 9.2%.

Private equity’s tax breaks help make that possible.

pestakeholder.org/reports/priv...

Private equity’s growing footprint in Michigan tied to layoffs, rising housing costs, and healthcare risks About 10% of workers are employed by private equity-owned companies, which also own nine hospitals and nearly 200 manufactured home parks

NEW: As of 2024, Michigan was among the 10 states with the largest increase in its share of private sector workforce employed by private equity-controlled companies, reflecting how PE is reshaping jobs and industries across the state.

IBJ op-ed: AES acquisition plan could force utility bills higher The following op-ed by PESP communications director Matt Parr published in April in the Indianapolis Business Journal: Over the past year, Hoosiers have watched their utility bills climb. In February…

Hoosiers are already seeing rising utility bills.

Now private equity is expanding its role in Indiana utilities.

A new op-ed examines the proposed AES acquisition and a key question for regulators:

If investors target higher returns, who covers the gap?

🔗 pestakeholder.org/media_covera...

NIPSCO CEO gets questioned about USW lockout, Blackstone's investment One week after locking out 1,600 union workers, NIPSCO faces mounting scrutiny over high utility rates, billing practices, and private equity ties.

New coverage highlights growing scrutiny of NIPSCO’s lockout—and the role of Blackstone.

As we’ve documented, Blackstone brings a track record of:

• Failing labor score
• Safety & wage violations
• Child labor case tied to Indiana

www.fox32chicago.com/news/nipsco-...

As layoffs loom, 86% of LAUSD digital instruction contracts went to private equity-backed companies Ahead of potential strike, new report shows district has spent billions on contracts with private companies despite projected deficit

NEW: Ahead of a potential strike by education professionals in LA Unified School District, our latest report finds that hundreds of millions of dollars of LAUSD contract commitments for external services were directed to private equity or venture capital-backed companies from Jan 2022 to June 2025.

West Suburban closure exposes cracks in hospital oversight The hospital's CEO says a billing glitch that no one else could diagnose starved the provider for a year. State officials paint a starkly different picture.

West Suburban is being blamed on a “billing glitch.”

But the reality runs deeper: debt, neglected infrastructure, and years of instability tied to prior private equity ownership.

We’re seeing the same trajectory play out again.

www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/...

The NIPSCO worker lockout isn’t happening in a vacuum.

Blackstone, a 20% investor, has a track record of labor issues:

• Failing grade on labor practices
• Among the worst for safety & wage violations
• Linked to child labor violations, including in Indiana

www.fox32chicago.com/news/nipsco-...

ABC57 took a closer look at Blackstone’s nearly 20% stake in NIPSCO and what it could mean for rising energy bills.

This is the kind of scrutiny we need as private equity moves deeper into utilities.

More: www.abc57.com/news/non-pro...

KKR-backed Vista Pacifico LNG canceled amid opposition Earlier this month, KKR-backed Sempra Infrastructure (SI) canceled the Vista Pacifico liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, a proposed natural gas liquefaction terminal that would have been built near…

KKR-backed Vista Pacífico LNG is canceled.

Another major fossil fuel project collapses under regulatory pressure and community opposition.

Private equity is pouring billions into energy infrastructure, but projects like this show the risks.

More: pestakeholder.org/news/kkr-bac...

Wall Street in the Wolverine State: How private equity impacts Michigan Join PESP on April 15 at 1 PM ET for a webinar on private equity's impact on Michigan

In two weeks, join PESP for a webinar examining how private equity is impacting the Great Lakes State. Hear from Michiganders whose homes and jobs have been affected by PE's financial engineering, and what we can do to prevent harms from the industry. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

This is not an April Fool's joke. The Trump administration is trying to bail out the private equity industry with your 401(k) retirement savings.

Read more: pestakeholder.org/news/trump-a...

One year later, the Walgreens buyout is starting to follow a familiar pattern.

The warning signs are becoming harder to ignore.

• Stores closing
• Jobs cut
• Workers losing benefits

Some things don’t stay hidden for long.

Read more: pestakeholder.org/news/one-yea...

Larry Fink’s compensation jumps 23% as BlackRock AUM tops $14 trillion The pay increase comes after a year where BlackRock’s assets under management rose 22% to a record-high $14.04 trillion, with $698 billion of net inflows. The asset manager’s share price also gained…

Is this who Americans want running their local utility? If BlackRock is allowed to takeover AES, the risks include higher bills, less transparency, and utilities run to maximize investor returns instead of serving communities. www.pionline.com/asset-manage...

Trump admin DOL rule bails out private equity with your 401(k) DOL expands access to private equity despite evidence of underperformance, high fees, and illiquidity risk WASHINGTON, DC — Today the Trump White House proposed a rule expanding private equity and…

The DOL just finalized a rule today expanding private equity and private credit in 401(k)s.

Workers could face higher fees, lower returns, and less access to their own money.

🔗 pestakeholder.org/news/trump-a...

Warren Probes Biggest Corporate Landlords on Predatory Rental Practices Across Housing Sector | United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The Official website of The United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Citing PESP's original research into private equity's involvement in the manufactured and multi-family housing markets, Senator Warren is pressing private equity landlords on their exploitative rental practices. www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/min...

Thoma Bravo’s RealPage enters the “rent now, pay later” market RealPage now finds itself in hot water due to its 2025 purchase of Livble, a rent payment software that offers a “Rent Now Pay Later” approach to paying rent. The property management software…

PE-owned RealPage’s ownership of Livble shows that the corporation’s harmful impact on tenants and the housing market is not just within the arena of price-setting recommendations.

Yesterday, West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, IL stopped accepting patients and halted services, the latest in a series of crises involving safety-net hospitals previously owned by private equity-backed Pipeline Health.

pestakeholder.org/news/oak-par...

The Single-Family Home Gets Caught in a Political Vise One of the provisions among the 40 bills that make up the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would curb the role that institutional buyers play in the housing market, and that includes the build-for-rent industry.

“Build to rent is essentially home builders switching their construction from building homes for people to building homes for large institutional investors,” said Jim Baker, the executive director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

The White House just cleared the way this week for expanding private equity and private credit in 401(k)s.

Opening 401(k)s to private equity isn’t reform—it’s a bailout for private market firms at workers’ expense.

🔗 pestakeholder.org/news/trump-a...

Wall Street in the Wolverine State: How private equity impacts Michigan On April 15, join the Private Equity Stakeholder Project for a webinar examining how private equity is reshaping Michigan’s economy and affecting residents.

Join PESP for a webinar on April 15 at 1 PM examining how private equity is reshaping Michigan’s economy and affecting residents. PE-owned companies now employ 10% of the state’s private sector workforce across sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.

I Predicted the 2008 Financial Crisis. What Is Coming May Be Worse. This time, the risks are spread across industries, markets and nations: artificial intelligence, the roughly $2 trillion private credit industry, stock markets, Taiwan and now Iran.

Once again, experts are raising red flags about private credit and the potential for the industry to be involved in a financial disaster. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/o...

Russia is now earning about $150M more per day from oil as prices rise amid the Iran conflict.

At the same time, private equity firms including Carlyle and Quantum are vying to acquire Russian oil giant Lukoil’s overseas assets.

Our research ↓
pestakeholder.org/news/private...

Post-Tribune op-ed: Blackstone profits from NIPSCO The following op-ed by PESP communications director Matt Parr published in February in the Post-Tribune: Like thousands of other families across Northwest Indiana, I open my NIPSCO bill each month…

In 2024, Blackstone, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, acquired roughly a 20 percent ownership stake in NIPSCO’s parent company. A senior Blackstone executive now sits on NIPSCO’s board. pestakeholder.org/media_covera...

According to the new Energy and Policy Institute Utility Profit Tracker, NIPSCO, which partially owned by private equity firm Blackstone, is ranked 12 out of 100 nationally for the % of your bill taken as profit.

Check out the new EPI tool here: energyandpolicy.org/utilityprofi...

Utilities historically generate about ~10% returns.

BlackRock’s infrastructure fund targeting utilities advertises 15–20% annual returns.

So the question regulators should ask is simple: where does the extra return come from?

pestakeholder.org/news/embolde...

Durham tenant defense ordinance is a promising regulatory tool against dangerous rentals Ordinance “gives us a legal tool to fight back and live with basic dignity,” says tenant leader

The “No Rent For Slumlords” ordinance is meaningful for organizers and advocates outside of North Carolina as well, showing that city officials do have the ability to use creative legal strategies to provide additional tenant protections even when state political environments are less than ideal.

A major Wall Street private equity firm profits from NIPSCO, yet most customers rarely hear its name.

A new opinion column from PESP examines how Blackstone’s stake in NIPSCO raises questions about rising bills who benefits from Indiana utility rates.

🔗 pestakeholder.org/media_covera...