David Rubenstein - Life, Leadership, and LBOs - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 270]

My guest today is David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group - one of the largest private equity firms in the world. David has worked in the White House, built a $300 billion investment institution, become a prominent philanthropist, published books, and even hosts his own TV show. It was a thrill to sit down with him and cover the whole spectrum of his experience as a father, investor, historian, and titan of American business. Please enjoy this great conversation with David Rubenstein. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes [00:03:02] - [First question] - What his perspective on the world today is compared to the last forty years [00:05:35] - The long term implications of the Ukraine war on a global scale [00:07:54] - Concerns and thoughts on the US’s role in a radically different world [00:10:07] - How inflation and reduced globalization impacts business behavior in the US [00:14:11] - His method when interviewing people and how it’s changed over time [00:15:03] - How his interest in leadership as a topic began; How to Lead [00:17:55] - The time he was the most personally in awe of a leader [00:19:05] - The most basic ingredients for strong leadership [00:21:34] - Learning from Oprah and developing his own interviewing style [00:24:25] - His leadership style while running Carlyle and key variables that drove Carlyle’s success [00:28:41] - The ways that were most effective in terms of investment for Carlyle’s brand [00:29:50] - How should a new investor think about the relationship between government and business [00:32:17] - What he’s learned about leadership that he thinks is the most portable for other people [00:34:04] - His interest in masters of leadership and what he has learned from them [00:35:08] - How Carlyle retained their talent and building relationships with LP investors [00:37:20] - Lessons from working in media with what worked and what didn’t; How to Invest [00:38:55] - How he approached writing How to Invest [00:41:13] - The importance of intuition when evaluating backers and why geniuses aren’t always chosen [00:43:04] - Big aspects of American history and why he finds it so interesting; The American Story [00:44:17] - Key drivers of American outcomes and biggest areas for improvement [00:47:00] - Lessons he learned going from humble beginnings to amassing wealth and how he’s teaching his children about it [00:49:20] - The state of private equity and what are its best and highest functions today [00:51:03] - Experience and impressions on the emerging cryptosphere [00:52:25] - What makes for a good chairman and why he is always drawn to that role [00:53:42] - The most interesting system outside of the US that he’s observed [00:55:33] - What he has learned about being a giving pledge signer and philanthropy [00:57:02] - His interest in Monticello and the Magna Carta [00:59:13] - View on how speeches from leaders have changed over the years; Citizenship in a Republic [01:01:24] - What subject he would write his next book on [01:03:58] - Thoughts on the line between giving your life for your country versus your state [01:05:17] - The American Experiment [01:06:10] - Looking back on his career at a time where he felt the most alive [01:08:07] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him