A Wide-ranging Interview with The Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein

November 5, 2020

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About the Guest

David Rubenstein

Co-Executive Chairman of the Carlyle Group

David Rubenstein is the co-founder and co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest investment management firms with $230 billion of assets under management. He is also the author of "How to Lead: Wisdom from the World's Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers." In addition to his role at Carlyle, David serves as the Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution and a Trustee of the National Gallery of Art. Prior to forming Carlyle in 1987, David had a prominent legal career, serving as the Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy under Jimmy Carter, along with stints at Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Episode Overview

Our 500th episode features a wide-ranging with David Rubenstein, The Carlyle Group’s co-founder and co-Executive Chairman. We discuss:

David’s experience growing up in a blue-collar family in Baltimore
His experience working for the Carter administration
Why the Carter administration was viewed as unsuccessful
David’s decision to leave government and the legal profession to start Carlyle
How David and a partner came up with the firm’s name
How Carlyle got prominent political figures to join the firm, including presidents and prime ministers
David’s decision to diversify the business and go global
David’s rationale for taking the firm public
David’s philanthropic endeavors
Why he has decided to give all of his money away
Why he now stays out of politics

Among a variety of other topics.

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