Patricia Hetter Kelso (nee Bertsche), pioneering champion of democratic capitalism, died peacefully in her San Francisco home on Independence Day, July 4, 2025, at age 98.
Born in Anderson, Indiana, Patricia dedicated her life to the development and advancement of Binary Economics, a revolutionary economic theory that aims to achieve universal capitalism.
After earning degrees in government and philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin, she spent seven years in Sweden as an independent marketing specialist, breaking barriers as one of the few foreign women to succeed in the Swedish business sector.
Her life’s trajectory changed in 1963 when she met Louis O. Kelso, inventor of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), the prototype leveraged buyout. As his intellectual partner and collaborator, Patricia helped develop the paradigm-shifting observation that recognizes both labor and capital as independent sources of wealth creation, challenging conventional economic orthodoxy.
Together they founded Kelso & Company, an ESOP investment banking firm in San Francisco, and co-authored two groundbreaking books: Two-Factor Theory: The Economics of Reality (Random House, 1967) and Democracy and Economic Power: Extending the ESOP Revolution (Ballinger Publishing, 1986).
Patricia married Louis in 1980. Following his death in 1991, she wrote “What Louis Kelso Knew,” which she considered one of her finest expositions on his revolutionary insights. Rather than quietly preserving his legacy, she chose active advocacy.
As President of the Kelso Institute for the Study of Economic Systems, and well into her 90s, Patricia continued engaging international audiences, demonstrating that Binary Economics offered solutions to modern economic challenges. Her sustained advocacy exemplified the principled persistence required to transform revolutionary economic concepts into a practical reality.
She was a founding board member of the Kelso Institute Europe and had served as a director of the University of the Americas Foundation.
A proud resident of San Francisco, Patricia was a long-time supporter of local charities, culture and the arts, including the San Francisco Food Bank, Symphony, Opera, Public Library, SPCA and Save the Bay.
Colleagues and friends described Patricia as a gifted storyteller, devoted mentor, and a “smart and classy lady” with infectious optimism. Her legacy continues to inspire those working to complete the transformation she and Louis began: the achievement of universal capitalism that Binary Economics makes possible.
A memorial mass will be held on Wednesday, July 23rd at 2:00 PM at Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street, San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kelso Institute for the Study of Economic Systems, the American Civil Liberties Union or your favorite San Francisco charity.
For more information about Patricia’s work, including her tribute “What Louis Kelso Knew,” visit www.kelsoinstitute.org.
Phil DeDominicis is an ESOP strategist and M&A advisor who has guided 300+ companies through ESOP formations, financing, and transactions over 20+ years at Menke & Associates. He specializes in selling ESOP‑owned businesses to financial or strategic buyers and in helping ESOP companies acquire other businesses.
