Offerings - Paperback

by Michael Byungju Kim (Author)

Offerings is a financial thriller and coming-of-age immigrant tale written by Michael B. Kim.

With the rapidly cascading Asian Financial Crisis threatening to go global and Korea in imminent meltdown, investment banker Dae Joon finds himself back in his native Seoul as part of an international team brought in to rescue the country from sovereign default. For Dae Joon--also known by his American name of Shane, after the cowboy movie his father so loved--the stakes are personal.

Raised in the US and Harvard Business School-educated, Dae Joon is a jangnam, a firstborn son, bound by tradition to follow in the footsteps of his forebears. But rather than pursue the path his scholar-father wanted, he has sought a career on Wall Street, at the epicenter of power in the American empire. Now, as he and his fellow bankers work feverishly with Korean officials to execute a sovereign bond offering to raise badly needed capital, he knows that his own father is living on borrowed time, in the last stages of a disease that is the family curse. A young woman he has met is quietly showing the way to a different future. And when his closest friend from business school, a scion of one of Korea's biggest chaebol, asks his help in a sale that may save the conglomerate but also salvage a legacy of corruption, he finds himself in personal crisis, torn by dueling loyalties, his identity tested.

Author Biography

Michael B. Kim is a partner and founder of MBK Partners, a seasoned financier, active philanthropist, and author. He grew up in Seoul, Korea, was educated in the United States, and currently works in Seoul and Hong Kong. With over thirty years of experience in investment banking and private equity, Michael B. Kim founded MBK Partners, along with several other founding members, in 2005. After completing his MBA at Harvard Business School, where he was a member of the Harvard Business School Board of Dean's Advisors, Kim began his career in finance at Goldman Sachs. He then held positions at Salomon Smith Barney and Carlyle Group before co-founding MBK Partners. Under his leadership, MBK Partners has grown to over $30 billion in assets under management and investments in China, Japan, and Korea.

During his time in the financial industry, Michael B. Kim has been recognized for both his business acumen and his philanthropic efforts. He was distinguished as one of Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential in 2015. Forbes Asia named him one of its Heroes of Philanthropy in 2021, 2022, and 2024. In 2024, Market Insights designated him as Most Influential in Korea's Capital Markets.

Continuing his commitment to philanthropy, in 2024, Haverford College announced plans to establish an Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership and to fund faculty positions, with financial support from a $25 million donation by Kim.

In addition to his career achievements, Kim wrote the novel Offerings, a national bestseller.

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