Where Energy, Grit, and Optimism Take You: How Keith Breslauer Went From Working at Lehman Brothers to Starting a €5 Billion Private Equity Firm

One of Europe’s notable private equity success stories started in New York.

Meet Keith Breslauer: native to Washington Heights, NYC and now the managing director of Patron Capital, a London-based private equity firm specializing in real estate and property that he founded in 1999. Patron represents leading U.S. and European institutions, endowments, pension funds and family offices, with approximately €5 billion in assets under management.Today's conventional wisdom views America as the Holy Land of opportunity, while Europe—a region with low VC budgets, tight regulations, and poor outlook for youth employment—fails to match expectations. So why did Keith, an American, build a business in London?

He calls it work arbitrage: "There’s fat chickens walking around, and I can shoot ‘em,” he says. For Keith, less competition in the region means more advantage for people willing to hustle.

What are some of his secrets to success? Energy and positivity. Filming this episode on a gloomy London afternoon, Keith remained upbeat, saying “I’m a perpetual optimist.”

On the Build to Last podcast, Keith discusses with Ethan some key takeaways from his decades spanning career (which actually began at Lehman Brothers!). He also shares why balance is important and some advice on how young people can find opportunities in a competitive market, as well as the key lesson from Patron’s best investments: opportunity hides in uncertainty.