(FINANCE) largest private equity fund manager in the
world, by assets under management ($90.5 billion-2010). The Carlyle Group is actually a group of 67 funds which are, in turn, managed by a wholly private (i.e., non-listed, non-traded) limited liability company (LLC). In order to be a partner in the Carlyle Group, one needs to (a) have an enormous amount of
money to invest for a very long time, and (b) have some peculiar connection of value to the existing partners.
About 69% of fund commitments by TC Group, LLC, are for buyouts; the profits--which are immense--come when it resells its portfolio. For example, it bought and restructured United Defense Industries in 1997, cashed out by '04, and made profits of about a billion on that particular deal. It has bought many defense firms and restructured them, while using its
special connections to open doors for new categories of defense contracts.
One major investor is
Prince Al-Walid bin Talal, who is also the owner of the largest block of shares in News Corp
outside of the Murdoch
family.
The collection of influential characters who now work, have worked, or have invested in the Carlyle Group {include}... John Major, former British Prime Minister; Fidel Ramos, former Philippines President; Park Tae Joon, former South Korean Prime Minister; Saudi
Prince Al-Walid bin Talal; Colin Powell; James Baker III; Caspar Weinberger; Richard Darman, former White House Budget Director; the billionaire George Soros, and even some bin Laden
family members; Karl Otto Poehl, former Bundesbank president; the
late Henri Martre, who was president of Aerospatiale; and Etienne Davignon, former president of the Belgian Generale Holding Company.
{"Carlyle Empire" by
Eric Leser, Le Monde, April 29,
2004}
