Howard Gleckman explains carried interest, often referred to as "the carry":
The carry allows general partners in investment deals to receive compensation in the form of tax-advantaged capital gains, which are taxed at 15 percent, rather than as salary, which would be taxed as ordinary income with a top rate of 35 percent. This happens because the managers are paid with a fee (up to 2 percent) plus 20 percent or more of their investor’s profits. Those profits are taxed as capital gains even though the general partners may have little or no money of their own at risk in the deal.
So you make millions off companies, even when they go bankrupt, and you get taxed at rates the middle class would love to pay. Run on that in Ohio.
The Dish 