It is a bit misleading to label all private equity as "massively leveraged." None of the major investors in "unicorns" of VC use leverage (e.g. Uber https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/uber/investors). In fact, the typical VC fund is legally barred from using leverage in their investments.
The buyout side of the PE market is leveraged, however, the investments in those investors' portfolios typically have big balance sheets to support the debt loads (and the interest payments).
The buyout side of the PE market is leveraged, however, the investments in those investors' portfolios typically have big balance sheets to support the debt loads (and the interest payments).