Barbarians at the Gate

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

First edition
Author	Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
Language	English
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Harper & Row
Publication date	1989
Media type	Paperback
Pages	592
ISBN	0-06-016172-8
OCLC	20491096
Dewey Decimal	338.8/3664/00973 20
LC Class	HD2796.R57 B87 1990

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco is a 1989 book about the leveraged buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco, written by investigative journalists Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. The book is based upon a series of articles written by the authors for The Wall Street Journal. The book was made into a 1993 made-for-TV movie by HBO, also called Barbarians at the Gate. The book centers on F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of RJR Nabisco, who planned to buy out the rest of the Nabisco shareholders.

Summary

Those opposed to Johnson's bid for the company, Henry Kravis and his cousin George R. Roberts, were among the pioneers of the leveraged buyout (LBO). 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. Ted Forstmann and his Forstmann Little buyout firm also played a prominent role.

After Kravis and Johnson were unable to reconcile their differences, a bidding war took place which Johnson would eventually lose. The side effect of the augmented buyout price to the shareholders was the creation of a high level of debt for the company.

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."

Important personalities

• F. Ross Johnson, president and CEO, RJR Nabisco
• Ed Horrigan, president and chief executive officer of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco division of RJR Nabisco
• Edward J. Robinson, chief financial officer of RJR Nabisco
• Peter Cohen, chairman and chief executive, Shearson Lehman Hutton
• Ted Forstmann, senior partner, Forstmann Little & Company
• John Greeniaus, president and chief executive officer of Nabisco division of RJR Nabisco
• Eugene Yetman, chairman of the board, RJR Nabisco
• Henry Kravis, senior partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
• George R. Roberts, senior partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
• Jim Robinson, chairman and chief executive, American Express
• Ted Ammon, financier and investment banker
• Charles Hugel, special committee director

Film adaptation

The book was adapted by Larry Gelbart for a 1993 television movie of the same name directed by Glenn Jordan.

Publishing information and reception

In 2008, HarperCollins re-released Barbarians to mark the two-decade anniversary of the RJR deal. 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). Business reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times wrote in his book Too Big to Fail that this is his favourite business book of all time.

Further reading

• The Predators' Ball by Connie Bruck
• Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart
• Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
• When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein
• Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin
• The Big Short by Michael Lewis
• King of Capital by David Carey and John E. Morris
• The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
• Money Games by Weijian Shan

References

• Hamilton, David P., Book Review, Washington Monthly, January 1990