How Sami built the fortune
Sami Mnaymneh built his wealth by co-founding H.I.G. Capital, a Miami investment firm that buys and lends to small and mid-sized companies. He launched it in 1993 with Tony Tamer after working on large corporate transactions in New York. The founders saw an opening in companies too small to interest the major buyout funds but large enough to benefit from new capital, better management systems and add-on acquisitions.
The strategy proved durable. H.I.G. started with modest pools of money and gradually raised bigger and more specialised funds, adding distressed investing, private credit, real estate and European buyouts. Unlike several large peers, it never sold shares to the public, so the partnership, led by its two co-founders, keeps the economics of the business. Mnaymneh's fortune reflects that ownership and his personal capital committed to the funds.
His background in deal structuring and legal analysis is often credited with shaping H.I.G.'s comfort with complex transactions such as carve-outs from large corporations and purchases of companies in financial difficulty.
The firm's investment teams often look for companies in transition, such as divisions being sold by large corporations, family businesses facing succession questions and firms emerging from financial distress. In these situations H.I.G. typically pairs capital with operating support, working on management changes, cost reduction and add-on acquisitions to build a larger and more valuable company before eventually selling it.
Companies and holdings
Mnaymneh is co-chief executive of H.I.G. Capital. Under his leadership the firm has expanded from a single buyout strategy into a group that includes Bayside Capital for distressed and special situations, H.I.G. WhiteHorse for direct lending, H.I.G. Realty Partners, growth equity funds and dedicated vehicles for Europe and Latin America.
The group has offices across the United States, Europe and Latin America and has backed hundreds of companies over its history. Its portfolio is spread across industrial, healthcare, consumer and services businesses, which limits dependence on any single deal.
Over time the firm has also added specialised funds for life sciences, infrastructure and other areas, and it has built a large credit business that lends to companies owned by other private equity firms. The diversity of strategies means that H.I.G. can invest across the economic cycle, buying equity in good times and debt in distressed periods.
Early life and career
Mnaymneh was born in Lebanon in 1961 and moved to the United States for his education. He earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and then completed both a law degree at Harvard Law School and an MBA at Harvard Business School, an unusual combination that he has drawn on throughout his career.
He began in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and then joined the Blackstone Group, where he became a managing director in its mergers and acquisitions advisory business. Working on takeovers and restructurings for large companies showed him how much value lay in the operational side of deals, and he left to start H.I.G. with Tamer while still in his early thirties.
Colleagues often point to his legal and transactional training as a complement to Tamer's operating focus. The partnership between the two founders has lasted more than three decades, which is unusual in an industry where founding teams frequently split.
The move from New York to Miami was itself a strategic choice. The founders wanted to be close to Latin American markets and away from the crowded competition of Manhattan, and the firm later opened offices in the region.
Philanthropy and public life
Mnaymneh has supported his alma maters and causes connected to education, and he has backed humanitarian and educational efforts related to Lebanon. He does not, however, run a widely publicised foundation, and most of his giving is not disclosed in detail.
He avoids media attention and rarely appears at public events outside the investment industry. In Miami he is known as one of the founders who established private equity in the city long before the recent arrival of many financial firms from the Northeast.
Within the firm he is described as closely involved in investment decisions and in recruiting senior partners, and he continues to share leadership with Tamer on strategy and fundraising.