David Rubenstein, Private Equity Titan, Passes the Torch
Thanks to the traditional private equity business model — in which firms charge investors a lucrative management fee, regardless of performance,
and also take a large share of profits — companies like Carlyle are practically guaranteed to make money.
“Publicly traded private equity firms are undervalued by the market,” Mr. Rubenstein said.
“I don’t think that’s hurt the firm; that’s helped the firm.”
David Skorton, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, said
that Mr. Rubenstein, who serves on the Smithsonian’s board of regents, was uncommonly involved in his nonprofit work
It started with a series of meetings at the Carlyle Hotel in New York,
and grew to become one of the world’s most ambitious and well-connected private equity firms.
The Carlyle Group, which has headquarters in Washington, manages about $170 billion in assets
around the world, spread across private equity, real estate and other investment funds.
Privately held until 2012, Carlyle joined other private equity firms in offering shares to the public in the years after the financial crisis.