Tuscany for $200: Private Equity Subsidizes Pension Fund Luxury

It could almost be an episode of White Lotus.

Two Michigan pension fund officials attended a 2018 Apax Partners event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence, Italy, that featured “custom tailored activities and itineraries,” including tours of the Tuscan countryside on vintage Vespa scooters and a gala dinner at the 17th Century Villa le Corti.

Four Seasons Hotel Firenze

Photographer: Peter Vitale/Four Seasons

The bill for the state: less than $200 for each official, according to public records obtained by Bloomberg. And Michigan is hardly alone in letting private equity firms foot most of the bill for luxury travel and trips by state pension fund ...