Mitt Romney

==Business career==
{{Main|Business career of Mitt Romney}}

===Management consulting===
After receiving his JD–MBA from Harvard, Romney passed the Michigan [[Bar examination in the United States|bar exam]] but decided to pursue a career in business rather than law.<ref>Kranish; Helman, ''The Real Romney'', p. 97.</ref> He was recruited by several large companies but joined the [[Boston Consulting Group]] (BCG), reasoning that working as a [[management consultant]] for a variety of companies would better prepare him for a future position as a chief executive.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="MrPowerPoint" /> Part of a 1970s wave of top graduates who chose to go into consulting rather than join a large company directly,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/sunday-review/consultant-nation.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211025543/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/sunday-review/consultant-nation.html |archive-date=December 11, 2011 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Consultant Nation|author=Leonhardt, David|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 11, 2011|author-link=David Leonhardt}}</ref> he found his legal and business education useful in his job.<ref name="bgseries3" /> He applied BCG principles such as the [[growth-share matrix]],<ref name="nykr2007" /> and executives viewed him as having a bright future there.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us/politics/mitt-romney-and-benjamin-netanyahu-are-old-friends.html|title=A Friendship Dating to 1976 Resonates in 2012|first=Michael|last=Barbaro|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 7, 2012|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-date=January 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117080821/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us/politics/mitt-romney-and-benjamin-netanyahu-are-old-friends.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At BCG, he was a colleague of [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], with whom he formed a friendship that has lasted for more than 40 years.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Friendship Dating From 1976 Resonates in 2012 |last=Barbaro |first=Michael |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us/politics/mitt-romney-and-benjamin-netanyahu-are-old-friends.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 7, 2012 |access-date=April 7, 2012 |archive-date=April 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408215016/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us/politics/mitt-romney-and-benjamin-netanyahu-are-old-friends.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1977, he was hired by [[Bain & Company]], a management consulting firm in [[Boston]] formed a few years earlier by [[Bill Bain (consultant)|Bill Bain]] and several other ex-BCG employees.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nykr2007" /><ref name="hewitt-48">Hewitt, ''A Mormon in the White House?'', pp. 48–49.</ref> Bain later said of the 30-year-old Romney, "He had the appearance of confidence of a guy who was maybe ten years older."<ref name="howmakemoney">{{Cite news|first=David D.|last=Kirkpatrick|title=Romney's Fortunes Tied to Business Riches |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/us/politics/04bain.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606141352/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/us/politics/04bain.html |archive-date=June 6, 2007 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 4, 2007}}</ref> Unlike other consulting firms, which issued recommendations and then departed, Bain & Company <!-- "Bain way" --> immersed itself in a client's businesses and worked with them until changes were implemented.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nykr2007" /> Romney became a vice president of the firm in 1978,<ref name="crim102194" /> working with such clients as the [[Monsanto Company]], [[Outboard Marine Corporation]], [[Burlington Industries]], and [[Corning Incorporated]].<ref name="MrPowerPoint" /> Within a few years, the firm considered him one of its best consultants. In fact, clients sometimes preferred to use him rather than more-senior partners.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="vf-excerpt" />

===Minor political issues===
Two family incidents during this time later surfaced during Romney's political campaigns.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.deseret.com/2012/5/7/20502075/the-story-behind-mitt-romney-s-1981-arrest-for-disorderly-conduct|title=The story behind Mitt Romney's 1981 arrest for disorderly conduct|first=Jamshid Ghazi|last=Askar|newspaper=[[Deseret News]]|date=May 7, 2012|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=February 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206173242/https://www.deseret.com/2012/5/7/20502075/the-story-behind-mitt-romney-s-1981-arrest-for-disorderly-conduct|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wapo-dog">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romneys-dog-on-the-car-roof-story-still-proves-to-be-his-critics-best-friend/2012/03/14/gIQAp2LxCS_story.html|title=Mitt Romney's dog-on-the-car-roof story still proves to be his critics' best friend|first=Philip|last=Rucker|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=March 14, 2012|access-date=September 5, 2017|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902184247/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romneys-dog-on-the-car-roof-story-still-proves-to-be-his-critics-best-friend/2012/03/14/gIQAp2LxCS_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A state park ranger in 1981 told Romney his motorboat had an insufficiently visible license number and that he would face a $50 fine if he took the boat onto the lake. Disagreeing about the license and wanting to continue a family outing, Romney took it out anyway, saying he would pay the fine. The ranger arrested him for [[disorderly conduct]]. The charges were dropped several days later.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61957067.html?dids=61957067:61957067&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720230245/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61957067.html?dids=61957067:61957067&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |title=GOP hopeful arrested in 1981; Charge dismissed in boating case |author=Phillips, Frank|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=May 5, 1994|page=37|archive-date = July 20, 2011}}</ref> In 1983, on a 12-hour family road trip, he placed the family's [[Mitt Romney dog incident|dog in a windshield-equipped carrier on the roof of their car]], and then washed the car and carrier after the dog suffered a bout of diarrhea.<ref name="bgseries4" /> The dog incident in particular later became fodder for Romney's critics and political opponents.<ref name="wapo-dog"/><ref name="bg-seamus">{{cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/01/08/what_our_fascination_with_mitt_romneys_dog_seamus_says_about_our_culture/ |url-status=live |title=What our fascination with Mitt Romney's dog Seamus says about our culture|author=Swidey, Neil|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=January 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610211419/http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/01/08/what_our_fascination_with_mitt_romneys_dog_seamus_says_about_our_culture/?page=full|archive-date=June 10, 2012}}</ref>

===Private equity===
{{Further|Bain Capital}}

In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found and lead the spin-off [[private equity]] investment firm Bain Capital.<ref name="atl-pappu">{{Cite news|author=Pappu, Sridhar|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/09/the-holy-cow-candidate/304196/|title=The Holy Cow! Candidate|magazine=[[The Atlantic Monthly]]|date=September 2005|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-date=December 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204114855/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/09/the-holy-cow-candidate/304196/|url-status=live}}</ref> He initially refrained from accepting Bill Bain's offer to head the new venture until Bain rearranged the terms in a complicated partnership structure so that there was no financial or professional risk to Romney.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="howmakemoney" /><ref name="nyt060407db" /> Bain and Romney raised the $37 million needed to start the new operation, which had seven employees.<ref name="MrPowerPoint" /><ref name="blum" /> Romney held the titles of president<ref name="bg-leave1">{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8199011.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074421/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8199011.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Bain & Co. plans major layoffs, Boston staff hardest hit|first=Gordon|last=McKibben|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=October 30, 1990}}</ref> and managing general partner.<ref name="bg-leave1b">{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7645576.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074312/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7645576.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Bain agrees to reshape ownership|first=Diane E.|last=Lewis|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=January 30, 1991}}</ref><ref name="nyt-leave1" /> Though he was the sole shareholder of the firm, publications also called him managing director or CEO.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8473315.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074319/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8473315.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Dad's ideas live on&nbsp;– and in others|first=Mitt|last=Romney|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=June 21, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8329806.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074348/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8329806.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=They're trying to sell volunteerism up the river|first=David|last=Nyhan|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=May 28, 1995}}</ref><ref>Romney, ''Turnaround'', pp. 15–16.</ref>

Initially, Bain Capital focused on [[venture capital]] investments. Romney set up a system in which any partner could veto one of these potential opportunities, and he personally saw so many weaknesses that few venture capital investments were approved in the initial two years.<ref name="bgseries3" /> The firm's first significant success was a 1986 investment to help start [[Staples Inc.]], after founder [[Thomas G. Stemberg]] convinced Romney of the market size for office supplies and Romney convinced others; Bain Capital eventually reaped a nearly sevenfold return on its investment, and Romney sat on Staples's board of directors for over a decade.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="blum" /><ref name="nym-onep">{{cite news|url=https://nymag.com/print/?/news/politics/mitt-romney-2011-10/|title=Mitt Romney and the 1% Economy|author=Wallace-Wells, Benjamin|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=October 23, 2011|access-date=February 18, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113083601/http://nymag.com/print/?/news/politics/mitt-romney-2011-10/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Romney soon switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of [[leveraged buyouts]]: buying existing companies with money mostly borrowed from banking institutions using the newly bought companies' assets as collateral, taking steps to improve the companies' value, and then selling those companies when their value peaked, usually within a few years.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="howmakemoney" /> Bain Capital lost money in many of its early leveraged buyouts, but then found deals that made large returns.<ref name="bgseries3" /> The firm invested in or acquired [[Accuride Corporation]], [[Brookstone]], [[Domino's Pizza]], [[Sealy Corporation]], [[Sports Authority]], and [[Artisan Entertainment]], as well as some lesser-known companies in the industrial and medical sectors.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="howmakemoney" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2001/08/20/daily27.html|title=Bain Capital's Romney aiming for politics after Olympics|newspaper=[[Boston Business Journal]]|date=August 23, 2001|access-date=June 6, 2007|archive-date=December 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220040313/http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2001/08/20/daily27.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Much of the firm's profit was earned from a relatively small number of deals; Bain Capital's overall success-to-failure ratio was about even.{{#tag:ref|One study of 68&nbsp;deals that Bain Capital made during Romney's time there found that the firm lost money or broke even on 33 of them.<ref name="vf-excerpt" /> Another study that looked at the eight-year period following 77&nbsp;deals during Romney's time found that in 17&nbsp;cases the company went bankrupt or out of business, and in 6&nbsp;cases Bain Capital lost all its investment. But 10&nbsp;deals were very successful and represented 70&nbsp;percent of the total profits.<ref name="wsj-bc">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204331304577140850713493694|title=Romney at Bain: Big Gains, Some Busts|author=Maremont, Mark|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=January 9, 2012|access-date=February 6, 2020|archive-date=December 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216222541/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204331304577140850713493694|url-status=live}}</ref> |group="nb"}}

Romney discovered few investment opportunities himself (and those that he did often failed to make money for the firm).<ref name="real-155" /> Instead, he focused on analyzing the merits of possible deals that others brought forward and on recruiting investors to participate in them once approved.<ref name="real-155">Kranish; Helman, ''The Real Romney'', pp. 141, 155.</ref> At Bain Capital, Romney spread profits from deals widely within the firm to keep people motivated, often keeping less than 10% for himself.<ref name="nyt-depagr" /> Data-driven, he often played the role of a [[devil's advocate]] during exhaustive analysis of whether to go forward with a deal.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nym-onep" /> He wanted to drop a Bain Capital [[hedge fund]] that initially lost money, but other partners disagreed with him and it eventually made billions.<ref name="bgseries3" /> He opted out of the Artisan Entertainment deal, not wanting to profit from a studio that produced [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|R-rated films]].<ref name="bgseries3" /> Romney served on the board of directors of Damon Corporation, a medical testing company later found guilty of defrauding the government; Bain Capital tripled its investment before selling off the company, and the fraud was discovered by the new owners (Romney was never implicated).<ref name="bgseries3" /> In some cases, Romney had little involvement with a company once Bain Capital acquired it.<ref name="blum" />

Bain Capital's leveraged buyouts sometimes led to layoffs, either soon after acquisition or later after the firm had concluded its role.<ref name="nykr2007" /><ref name="nyt060407db">{{Cite news|url=http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/romneys-presidential-run-throws-spotlight-on-bain-capital/|title=Romney's Presidential Run Puts Spotlight on Bain Capital|author=Sorkin, Andrew Ross|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 4, 2007|author-link=Andrew Ross Sorkin|access-date=May 2, 2010|archive-date=August 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807181626/http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/romneys-presidential-run-throws-spotlight-on-bain-capital/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="blum">{{Cite news|last1=Blum|first1=Justin|first2=Lisa|last2=Lerer|title=Romney's Record Defies Image as Job-Creator|publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=July 20, 2011|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-20/romney-as-job-creator-clashes-with-bain-record-of-job-cuts.html|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-date=October 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027115959/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-20/romney-as-job-creator-clashes-with-bain-record-of-job-cuts.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Exactly how many jobs Bain Capital added compared to those lost because of these investments and buyouts is unknown, owing to a lack of records and Bain Capital's penchant for privacy for itself and its investors<!-- by 2011/2012 BC backed off 2008 "bg-bc-jobs" claim of net positive and said nothing at all -->.<ref name="nyt-dade">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/us/politics/after-mitt-romney-deal-company-showed-profits-and-then-layoffs.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113004917/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/us/politics/after-mitt-romney-deal-company-showed-profits-and-then-layoffs.html |archive-date=November 13, 2011 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=After a Romney Deal, Profits and Then Layoffs|author=Barbaro, Michael|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 13, 2011|page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checker-biography-romneys-claims-about-bain-capital-job-creation/2011/10/28/gIQAA447cM_blog.html|title=Romney's claims about Bain Capital job creation|author=Hicks, Josh|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 2, 2011|access-date=September 5, 2017|archive-date=December 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217215719/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checker-biography-romneys-claims-about-bain-capital-job-creation/2011/10/28/gIQAA447cM_blog.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71344.html|title=Mitt Romney's Bain Capital days: A black box|author=Hagey, Keach|newspaper=[[Politico]]|date=January 11, 2012|access-date=January 13, 2012|archive-date=June 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628162721/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71344.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Maximizing the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, not job creation, was the firm's primary investment goal.<ref name="blum" /><ref name="bg-bc-jobs">{{cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/as_bain_slashed_jobs_romney_stayed_to_side/ |title=As Bain slashed jobs, Romney stayed to side|author=Gavin, Robert|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=January 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021193945/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/as_bain_slashed_jobs_romney_stayed_to_side/?page=all|archive-date=October 21, 2013}}</ref> Bain Capital's acquisition of [[Ampad]] exemplified a deal where it profited handsomely from early payments and management fees, even though the subject company itself later went into bankruptcy.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="nym-onep" /><ref name="bg-bc-jobs" /> [[Dade Behring]] was another case where Bain Capital received an eightfold return on its investment but the company itself was saddled with debt and laid off over a thousand employees before Bain Capital exited (the company subsequently went into bankruptcy, with more layoffs, before recovering and prospering).<ref name="nyt-dade" /> Referring to the layoffs that sometimes occurred, Romney said in 2007: "Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter but it is necessary to save the life of the patient. My job was to try and make the enterprise successful, and in my view the best security a family can have is that the business they work for is strong."<ref name="nyt060407db" />

In 1990, facing financial collapse, Bain & Company asked Romney to return.<ref name="atl-pappu" /> Announced as its new CEO in January 1991,<ref name="bg-leave1b" /><ref name="nyt-leave1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/30/business/business-people-bain-names-chief-executive-and-begins-a-reorganization.html|title=Bain Names Chief Executive And Begins a Reorganization|author=Fabrikant, Geraldine|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 30, 1991|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-date=December 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215223421/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/30/business/business-people-bain-names-chief-executive-and-begins-a-reorganization.html|url-status=live}}</ref> he drew a symbolic [[One-dollar salary|salary of one dollar]]<ref name="atl-pappu" /> (remaining managing general partner of Bain Capital during this time).<ref name="bg-leave1b" /><ref name="nyt-leave1" /> He oversaw an effort to restructure Bain & Company's employee stock-ownership plan and real-estate deals, while rallying the firm's 1,000 employees, imposing a new governing structure that excluded Bain and the other founding partners from control, and increasing fiscal transparency.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="MrPowerPoint" /><ref name="atl-pappu" /> He got Bain and other initial owners who had removed excessive amounts of money from the firm to return substantial amounts, and persuaded creditors, including the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]], to accept less than full payment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/did-mitt-romney-get-a-bailout-for-bain-and-company/2012/07/24/gJQAvzSh7W_blog.html|title=Did Mitt Romney get a 'bailout' for Bain & Company?|first=Glenn|last=Kessler|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 25, 2012|access-date=September 5, 2017|archive-date=May 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529054111/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/did-mitt-romney-get-a-bailout-for-bain-and-company/2012/07/24/gJQAvzSh7W_blog.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Within about a year, he led Bain & Company to a return to profitability.<ref name="MrPowerPoint">{{Cite news|author=Rees, Matthew |url=http://www.american.com/archive/2006/december/mitt-romney/ |title=Mister PowerPoint Goes to Washington |magazine=[[The American (magazine)|The American]] |date=December 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130094507/http://www.american.com/archive/2006/december/mitt-romney/ |archive-date=January 30, 2012 }}</ref> He then turned it over to new leadership and returned to Bain Capital in December 1992.<ref name="bgseries3" /><ref name="ap022407">{{Cite news|url=http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS/702240385/1052/RSS01|title=Romney urges states to divest from Iran despite links to business interests there|author=Johnson, Glen|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[Telegram & Gazette]]|location=Worcester|date=February 24, 2007|access-date=May 2, 2010|archive-date=September 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925192820/https://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS/702240385/1052/RSS01|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Hewitt, ''A Mormon in the White House'', p. 51.</ref>

Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital from November 1993 to November 1994 to run for U.S. Senate.<ref name="bgseries4" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8299040.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074326/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8299040.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Romney agrees to talk; union balks|first=Frank|last=Phillips|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=October 8, 1994}}</ref> During that time, Ampad workers went on strike and asked Romney to intervene. Against the advice of Bain Capital lawyers, Romney met the strikers, but told them he had no position of active authority in the matter.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8299231.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074407/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8299231.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Romney meets with strikers Ind. workers say nothing resolved|first=Meg|last=Vaillancourt|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=October 10, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8310951.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074343/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8310951.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Strike-bound factory tied to Romney during US Senate race is set to close|first=Frank|last=Phillips|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=January 5, 1995}}</ref>

By 1999, Bain Capital was on its way to becoming one of the foremost private equity firms in the nation,<ref name="nyt060407db" /> having increased its number of partners from 5 to 18, with 115 employees and $4 billion under management.<ref name="howmakemoney" /><ref name="blum" /> The firm's average annual [[internal rate of return]] on realized investments was 113%<ref name="MrPowerPoint" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/297/metro/Business_record_helps_hinder_Romney+.shtml |title=Business record helps, hinders Romney |first1=Thomas |last1=Farragher |first2=Scott Bernard |last2=Nelson |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=October 24, 2002 |page=A1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021103004449/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/297/metro/Business_record_helps_hinder_Romney%2B.shtml |archive-date=November 3, 2002 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and its average yearly return to investors was around 50–80%.<ref name="wsj-bc"/>

Starting in February 1999, Romney took a paid leave of absence from Bain Capital in order to serve as the president and CEO of the 2002 [[Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee]].<ref name="bg-reins">{{cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/07/20/romney_kept_reins_bargained_hard_on_severance/ |title=Romney kept reins, bargained hard on severance|first1=Beth|last1=Healy|first2=Michael|last2=Kranish|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=July 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825150025/http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/07/20/romney_kept_reins_bargained_hard_on_severance/?page=full|archive-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref><ref name="bg-paid">{{cite news|title=Romney Stayed Longer at Bain|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=July 12, 2012|url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/07/12/government_documents_indicate_mitt_romney_continued_at_bain_after_date_when_he_says_he_left/ |first1=Callum |last1=Borchers |first2=Christopher |last2=Rowland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715052931/http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/07/12/government_documents_indicate_mitt_romney_continued_at_bain_after_date_when_he_says_he_left/?page=full|archive-date=July 15, 2012}}</ref> Billed in some public statements as keeping a part-time role,<ref name="bg-reins" /><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Boston Herald]]|first=Greg|last=Gatlin|title=Romney Looks To Restore Olympic Pride|date=February 12, 1999|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57110202.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502155203/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57110202.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 2, 2013}}</ref> Romney remained the firm's sole shareholder, managing director, CEO, and president, signing corporate and legal documents, attending to his interests within the firm, and conducting prolonged negotiations for the terms of his departure.<ref name="bg-reins" /><ref name="ap-exit">{{cite news|url=http://www.macombdaily.com/article/20120725/NEWS06/120729692/fact-check-romney-met-bain-partners-after-exit&pager=full_story|title=Fact Check: Romney Met Bain Partners After Exit|first1=Stephen|last1=Braun|first2=Jack|last2=Gillum|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Macomb Daily]]|date=July 25, 2012|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821003818/http://www.macombdaily.com/article/20120725/NEWS06/120729692/fact-check-romney-met-bain-partners-after-exit%26pager%3Dfull_story|archive-date=August 21, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> He did not involve himself in the firm's day-to-day operations or the investment decisions of its new private equity funds.<ref name="bg-reins" /><ref name="ap-exit" /> He retained his position on several boards of directors during this time and regularly returned to Massachusetts to attend meetings.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78463.html|title=Mitt Romney did business in Massachusetts during Olympics|first=Alexander|last=Burns|newspaper=[[Politico]]|date=July 12, 2012|access-date=September 7, 2012|archive-date=August 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829040929/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78463.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2001, Romney announced that he would not return to Bain Capital.<ref name="dn082001" /> His separation from the firm concluded in early 2002;<ref name="bg-reins" /> he transferred his ownership to other partners and negotiated an agreement that allowed him to receive a share of the profits as a retired partner in some Bain Capital entities, including buyout and investment funds.<ref name="personalworth">{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293140,00.html|title=Romney Worth As Much As $250 Million|last=Kuhnhenn|first=Jim|date=August 14, 2007|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204023043/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293140,00.html|archive-date=February 4, 2012|access-date=March 21, 2010|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref name="nyt-depagr">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/us/politics/retirement-deal-keeps-bain-money-flowing-to-romney.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219222756/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/us/politics/retirement-deal-keeps-bain-money-flowing-to-romney.html |archive-date=December 19, 2011 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Buyout Profits Keep Flowing to Romney|author=Confessore, Nicholas|author2=Drew, Christopher|author3=Creswell, Julie|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 18, 2011}}</ref> The private equity business continued to thrive, earning him millions of dollars in annual income.<ref name="nyt-depagr" />