It was the iconic deal of the 1980s, when bankers first became known as Masters of the Universe. With Ronald Reagan in the White House, the United States exuded an exuberance and self-confidence it had not seen for two decades and has only sporadically exhibited since. The Cold War was almost won. The stock market had been soaring, the economy was booming, and, economically and politically, just about anything seemed possible.

The controversial junk bond-fuelled $25bn takeover of US tobacco and food conglomerate RJR Nabisco by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts was at its height 20 years ago this week. The takeover serves as an ideal parable for the past two decades of excess.