DNowadays, avid Rubenstein has his own talk show: On the television channel of the financial news service Bloomberg, the co-founder and former co-boss of the private equity house Carlyle interviewed prominent politicians and managers – on the “David Rubenstein Show”. In his self-portrayal, he lets himself be filmed, obviously flirtatious, during the preparatory work in front of his kitchen table, which is covered with newspapers, documents, lots of paper. His “archive system”. “I have been an investor for a large part of the past three decades,” says Rubenstein. “The highest calling of mankind – I have often thought – is private equity. Then I started doing interviews. “
A typical Rubenstein, because the 72-year-old co-pioneer in the private equity industry is a good speaker with a witty language and occasional self-irony. He brilliantly shows the big picture in politics and business – regularly, for example, at the SuperReturn, the leading congress for the private equity industry in Berlin, where his appearances are among the most enlightening. He then analyzes the economic outlook and global income and wealth inequality (with his own billions of dollars), worries about possible bubbles in the markets, about the debts of the United States and China. He also appeared again at this year’s fair, which ended on Friday. “What are the most important geopolitical and economic questions that the western world is now facing?” Was the broad topic of the lecture, as usual.
The old generation is withdrawing
Rubenstein is an investment manager from the large generation of founders who have withdrawn from day-to-day business and are now dedicated to the bigger picture. Four years ago he gave up operational management at Carlyle. After saying goodbye to the details of the deal work, the otherwise hard-boiled finance professionals can get philosophical, even melancholy – seen years ago in Guy Hands, founder of Terra Firma. As a tax refugee, controversial in public, but respected in his own industry, the former investment banker spoke of the end of a 50-year golden era, of threatened peace and the future of Europe after Brexit. And that as a man in your fifties you are no longer young – you don’t have much time to do what you really want to do.
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The big players in the business have become a little hesitant to appear at the SuperReturn. This year, at the first meeting during pandemic times, the congress was noticeably less prominent than usual. In the event hotel and in the surrounding area, investment managers met their financiers as usual, and contacts were cultivated at network parties. But the old guard is in the process of withdrawing – at the fair and in the industry as a whole.
The moment to resign has come
This at a time when private equity is becoming increasingly important. The money pots for the takeovers are getting bigger and bigger. A number of investment companies are now listed on the stock exchange, the stock prices of the heavyweights have risen sharply in the past three years. At Carlyle, Kewsong Lee has been in charge since the beginning of 2018. Leon Black, co-founder and for a long time the central figure of the investment company, has withdrawn from the – also American – competitor Apollo – although a special factor may have tipped the balance here, because Black is accused of his acquaintance and business relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. His successor is Marc Rowan, also a co-founder, but always behind Black in the public eye. The private equity house TPG announced in May that Jon Winkelried would become sole chairman of the board, while co-founder Jim Coulter will now play a smaller role.
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