David Rubenstein
Encyclopedia
David M. Rubenstein is the co-founder of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity
firm. In the 2011 Forbes
ranking of the wealthiest Americans, Rubenstein was ranked 148th with a net worth of $2.6 billion.
, and graduated from the college-preparatory high school
, Baltimore City College
and then from Duke University
magna cum laude in 1970. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School
in 1973. From 1973-75, Rubenstein practiced law in New York with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
. Prior to starting Carlyle in 1987, with William E. Conway, Jr.
and Daniel A. D'Aniello
, Rubenstein was a domestic policy advisor to President Jimmy Carter
and worked in private practice in Washington, D.C.
. He has made large gifts to Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy
, the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
, Johns Hopkins University
, and the University of Chicago Law School
. He is a trustee of Duke, where Rubenstein Hall is named for his philanthropic gift to the school. In 2011, he also donated $13.6 million to the Duke University Libraries in support of renovating the university's special collections library.
He was elected to the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago
on May 31, 2007.
On December 18, 2007, David Rubenstein purchased the last privately owned copy of the Magna Carta
at Sotheby's auction house
in New York for $21.3 million. He has lent it to the National Archives
in Washington D.C. In 2011, Rubenstein gave $13.5 million to the National Archives for a new gallery and visitor's center.
Rubenstein was elected as the next Chairman of the Board of the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, starting in May 2010. He is Vice Chairman of the Board of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
, New York, and chairman of its fundraising drive. A new atrium was named for him.
Rubenstein has explicitly stated that he was once offered to meet Mark Zuckerberg before he dropped out of Harvard but decided against it. This is his single greatest investment regret.
He lives in Bethesda, Maryland and is married to Alice Rubenstein (née Alice Nicole Rogoff), founder of the Alaska House New York and the Alaska Native Arts Foundation
. They were married on May 21, 1983. They have three children together.
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm. In the 2011 Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
ranking of the wealthiest Americans, Rubenstein was ranked 148th with a net worth of $2.6 billion.
Early life and career
Rubenstein grew up in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, and graduated from the college-preparatory high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, Baltimore City College
Baltimore City College
The Baltimore City College , also referred to as The Castle on the Hill, historically as The College, and most commonly City, is a public high school in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. The City College curriculum includes the International Baccalaureate Programme and emphasizes study in the classics...
and then from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
magna cum laude in 1970. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
in 1973. From 1973-75, Rubenstein practiced law in New York with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. The firm has well-noted expertise in its corporate, personal representation, entertainment law and litigation practices, having long been a leader among national litigation firms...
. Prior to starting Carlyle in 1987, with William E. Conway, Jr.
William E. Conway, Jr.
William E. Conway, Jr. or Bill Conway is one of the three co-founders of The Carlyle Group.-Biography:William Conway received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.He started his career by serving in a variety of...
and Daniel A. D'Aniello
Daniel A. D'Aniello
Daniel A. D’Aniello, along with William E. Conway, Jr., and David Rubenstein, is a co-founder of The Carlyle Group, an American private equity firm. He is currently a Managing Director at Carlyle....
, Rubenstein was a domestic policy advisor to President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and worked in private practice in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Personal life
Rubenstein is among the group of American billionaires who have pledged to donate more than half of their wealth to philanthropic causes or charities as part of The Giving PledgeThe Giving Pledge
The Giving Pledge is a campaign to encourage the wealthiest people in the United States to make a commitment to give most of their money to philanthropic causes...
. He has made large gifts to Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy
Sanford School of Public Policy
The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University is named after former Duke president and Governor of North Carolina Terry Sanford, who established the university's Institute for Policy Sciences and Public Affairs in 1971 as an interdisciplinary program geared toward training future leaders...
, the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, and the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
. He is a trustee of Duke, where Rubenstein Hall is named for his philanthropic gift to the school. In 2011, he also donated $13.6 million to the Duke University Libraries in support of renovating the university's special collections library.
He was elected to the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
on May 31, 2007.
On December 18, 2007, David Rubenstein purchased the last privately owned copy of the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
at Sotheby's auction house
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
in New York for $21.3 million. He has lent it to the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
in Washington D.C. In 2011, Rubenstein gave $13.5 million to the National Archives for a new gallery and visitor's center.
Rubenstein was elected as the next Chairman of the Board of the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, starting in May 2010. He is Vice Chairman of the Board of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, New York, and chairman of its fundraising drive. A new atrium was named for him.
Rubenstein has explicitly stated that he was once offered to meet Mark Zuckerberg before he dropped out of Harvard but decided against it. This is his single greatest investment regret.
He lives in Bethesda, Maryland and is married to Alice Rubenstein (née Alice Nicole Rogoff), founder of the Alaska House New York and the Alaska Native Arts Foundation
Alaska Native Arts Foundation
Established in 2002, the Alaska Native Arts Foundation is a non-profit organization formed to support the Alaska Native Art community. The organization, headed by Jonella Larson White, engages in many efforts to increase public awareness of the art and to create a vibrant and growing market for...
. They were married on May 21, 1983. They have three children together.
Quotes
- "When history is written and people talk about the great protests, I don't think that this will be in that category." --Comparing what in his view were the great civil disobedience efforts of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther KingMartin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
to the protests by the Working Families PartyWorking Families PartyThe Working Families Party is a minor political party in the United States founded in New York in 1998. There are "sister" parties to the New York WFP in Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Oregon, but there is as yet no national WFP...
concerning the tax treatment of private equity firms.
- “I analogize [private equity] to sex...You realize there were certain things you shouldn’t do, but the urge is there and you can’t resist.” --speaking at Harvard Business School about the buyout bubble.
External links
- Carlyle biography of David Rubenstein
- U Chicago Chronicle article
- David Rubenstein Biography at the Wharton China Business Forum where Rubenstein was the opening keynote speaker for the 2010 event