Bain Capital

Bain Capital manages approximately $180 billion in assets, co-founded in 1984 by Mitt Romney along with T. Coleman Andrews III and Eric Kriss as a spinoff from Bain & Company consulting. The firm's approach of using management consulting analytics to improve portfolio companies -- rather than just financial engineering -- became a model for the industry. Its investments in Staples, Hospital Corporation of America, and Dunkin' Donuts generated billions in returns, though its corporate restructuring practices became controversial during Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.