General Partner

In a DPP (Direct Participation Program) or limited partnership, a general partner makes all the operating decisions. Not because she necessarily wants to (although it's likely he does), but because it's legally required that she do so.

General partners will have some financial interest in the limited partnership, but a lot of their compensation is based on their management and investment responsibilities. General partners also have unlimited liability, in contrast to limited partners, whose liability is limited to the amount invested.

So if the limited partnership or DPP is sued, the limited partners can only be sued for a limited amount while the general partner can in theory be taken to the cleaners. Don't worry too much, though; there are plenty of extra legal protections they can put in place (and insurance they can buy) to protect them from lawsuits. The rich men and women will be just fine.