Paul Kazarian

Paul B. Kazarian was born on October 15, 1955, the son of immigrants from Armenia. His grandparents were Charles and Agnes Kazarian; both of them escaped the Armenian genocide. Kazarian grew up in an Armenian community in Pawtucket, Rhode Island–a small mill town— and would go on to name his future investment fund after the street he grew up on: Japonica Street–the name of a Japanese flower. During nights at Columbia, he interned at Goldman Sachs, after-which he was offered a full-time position at the firm in their investment banking division. ==Investment career==

Goldman Sachs & Co. In 1981, Kazarian was hired as a full-time investment banker at Goldman Sachs & Co. While at Goldman he worked with multinational investment clients and emerging markets. He often stayed up past 4 AM competing work during his time at the firm. Sunbeam coup In 1990, Kazarian, then 37, was asked to serve out a three-year term as chairman and CEO of Sunbeam-Oster, after his private equity firm bought it out in a corporate raid. During his tenure he brought the company back from the verge of bankruptcy and created multiple profit streams for the company, ultimately returning it to profitability. His time as head of the company is used as a case study at Harvard Business School; Steven Fenster, a professor at Harvard University, has been quoted as labeling Kazarian as "a mad genius" with "incredible" business acumen. The government agreed to execute the trade at market price and purchased his partial bond portfolio. During the crisis he met with "Greek finance ministers in Athens, top policy makers in Berlin, officials at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and economists at the International Monetary Fund in Washington," according to The New York Times. == Investment philosophy ==

He is considered by the investment community to be a "vulture capitalist". He is known for buying out, taking over, or taking a position in distressed companies that face serious financial uncertainty–in an effort to buy at a discount–eventually making them profitable before selling. Due to its high buy-ins ($250 million), The Hedge Fund Journal called his fund a "money manager for money managers". During his Greek bond trade, he mentioned the accounting strategy he used to force the bond value rise. He said that there is an international standard for accounting that is not used by the European Union, instead opting for a legal framework that distorts the eurozone's financial positions–meant for legal compliance not accountability. The conflation of "future value" as "present value" lead Kazarian to begin initiating his trade. He does not disclose specific investment positions or strategies to protect long-term deals and trades. ==Personal life==

He resides in a home in Providence, Rhode Island. Kazarian is known for his "round, horn-rimmed glasses" that have become his "trademark". Kazarian has guest-lectured and spoken on the topics of business and philanthropy in settings ranging from the Harvard Business School, London Business School, Columbia Business School, and Dartmouth's Tuck Business School, to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the National School of Development at Peking University. ==Political and economic views ==

Although Kazarian has not disclosed his own political affiliations, he has publicly commented on numerous issues. Views on Greek financial stability After his $3 billion government-debt rate he has commented on the need for financial and economic reform in Greece following the 2013 Greek government-debt crisis. He has called for the country to appoint a "five-star finance minister" with "international-caliber five-star specialist training and capabilities to build trust and credibility." he notes government bonds as being profitable—contrary to reports by the Bloomberg's World Bond Index. He believes that "the Greek debt should be measured not at face value, which is 312 billion euros in 2015, but on a time of repayment basis, which would bring a substantial write-off due to low interest rates and the fact that its repayment will start in 10 years." Mario Draghi Kazarian has mentioned that Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, faces too much pressure from "the inaction and inability of politicians" which minimizes the efficiency and effectiveness of the eurozone. He asserts the numerous "badly managed" European governments have rendered the office of the E.U. Central Bank politically pressured. ==Wealth and philanthropy==

During the 2013 Greek government-debt crisis, Kazarian made an official public offer to the government of Greece of a bond portfolio of 2.9 billion euros (approximately US$3.8 billion), and the government agreed to execute the trade, paying Kazarian full market price for his bonds. The second, The Kazarian Foundation, furthers similar goals. It announced a Knowledge Partnership with American India Foundation as part of a Knowledge Partnership initiative. Kazarian was also committee chairman for a 2010 Singapore Heritage Celebration and on January 10, 2011, Kazarian delivered the opening address for a Knowledge Partnership for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Cooperation Programme. Kazarian is involved with the Asia Society, for which co-chaired the 2011 Awards Dinner. He also chaired the American India Foundation's fifth annual Spring Awards Gala on April 30, 2008 in New York City. ==See also==