(FORTUNE Magazine) – IT TOOK JUST ONE miserable day in October for F. Ross Johnson of RJR Nabisco to exchange his reputation as one of America's most unconventional and successful chief executives for that of a money grubber. Not just any money grubber, but the $100 million variety. Although Johnson insists that ownership would be spread through the ranks, that's how much he stood to gain in the deal he made with Shearson Lehman Hutton, backers of his bid to take over RJR. When word of it got out, the publicity was incendiary. To Johnson, 57, that is the most hurtful aspect of the spectacular $25 billion RJR Nabisco takeover. Throughout his career, he says, he sought only to do what made the most sense for the shareholders. Putting RJR in play certainly accomplished that goal, albeit not with the result he had in mind. While Johnson's group made the bid with the largest cash component, the directors rated the bid overall about the same as one from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and awarded the company to KKR. Suddenly the nonfinancial world learned a new name -- Henry Kravis. Long famous on Wall Street, highly visible and active in New York charities, Kravis, 44, instantly earned a one-line identification that will likely follow him for years: the man who made the biggest takeover deal ever. The distinction does not surprise anyone who has followed his career. Kravis left the brokerage firm Bear Stearns 12 years ago with cousin George Roberts, 45, and friend Jerome Kohlberg Jr., 63. Together they formed the firm that has become the all-time champ of leveraged buyouts. Over the years KKR has earned such magnificent returns that by last summer the firm had accumulated a buyout fund of $5.6 billion from institutional investors. That much equity could support perhaps $35 billion of debt, altogether a breathtaking war chest. So watch out: Despite making the biggest deal ever, Kravis still has some change. How do the rival bidders feel about this drama? For their exclusive, first- person accounts, see Money & Markets.