Rubenstein grew up as an only child in aJewish family inBaltimore. His father was aUnited States Postal Service file clerk, and his mother was ahomemaker and then began working in a dress shop when he was six years old.[10][11][12] He later recalled: "When I was young, Baltimore was a religiously segregated city. The Jews were in the northwest part of town, and it was very much a ghetto situation. I was 13 before I realized everyone in the world was not Jewish. Up to that point, everyone I knew was Jewish."[10]
Rubenstein (left) speaks with US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo in 2019
In 1987, Rubenstein foundedThe Carlyle Group withWilliam E. Conway Jr. andDaniel A. D'Aniello. The firm has grown into a global investment firm with $426 billion of assets under management as of 2023,[18] and more than 1,800 employees in 31 offices on six continents.[19]
In 2006, Rubenstein expressed fear that the private equity boom would end, saying, "This has been a golden age for our industry, but nothing continues to be golden forever."[20] One month later, he said, "Right now we're operating as if the music's not going to stop playing and the music is going to stop. I am more concerned about this than any other issue". According to Phiwa Nkambule, "These concerns proved to be right, as at the end of 2007, the buyout market collapsed... As leveraged loan activity came to an abrupt stop, private equity firms were unable to secure financing for their transactions."[21] However, Rubenstein's outlook quickly rebounded, and in 2008, he said,"But once this period is over, once the debt on the books of the banks is sold and new lending starts, I think you'll see the private equity industry coming back in what I call the Platinum Age – better than it's ever been before. I do think that the private equity industry has a great future and that the greatest period for private equity is probably ahead of us."[22] Reflecting on this period in 2018, Rubenstein argued that "actually most of the deals done in the heyday of the Great Recession pretty much worked out," and that the private equity industry had been "strengthened so much that now it’s the greatest time we’ve ever had to raise money."[20]
Rubenstein has said that he was once offered the opportunity to meetMark Zuckerberg (and invest inFacebook) before Zuckerberg dropped out ofHarvard but decided against it, and this is his single greatest investment regret.[23] Rubenstein also said that he turned down a 20% stake inAmazon during the very early years of the company. He told Amazon founderJeff Bezos that if he got lucky and everything worked out he would at most be worth $300 million.[24]
In 2018, he formed Declaration Capital, a family office focused on venture, growth, real estate, and family-owned businesses.[25][26]
His second book,How to Lead, was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2020. This book contains Rubenstein's reflections on leadership as well as 30 interviews with business, government, military, sports and cultural leaders.[28] In September 2021, Simon & Schuster published Rubenstein's third book,The American Experiment, which describes how America's government and democratic ideals have evolved over the centuries as told through the lives of Americans who have embodied the American dream.[29]
In September 2022, he published his fourth book under Simon & Schuster,How to Invest, where he shares insights from interviews with investors.[30]
Rubenstein hosts two shows onBloomberg Television:The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations andBloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein.Peer to Peer, which began airing in October 2016, also airs on many PBS stations and is available on Curiosity Stream.[32]
He also hostsHistory with David Rubenstein on PBS, a TV show produced by theNew-York Historical Society.[33] Rubenstein also hosts the audio podcast "For the Ages", also produced by the New-York Historical Society.
Rubenstein and Rogoff had three children together, two daughters and a son.[38][39] Gabrielle "Ellie" Rubenstein co-founded Manna Tree, a private equity firm that invests in health and nutrition companies;[40][41] she was also one of two dozen honorary co-chairs of the Alaskan chapter ofDonald Trump's2016 presidential campaign.[42]
Rubenstein was among the initial 40 individuals who have pledged to donate more than half of their wealth tophilanthropic causes or charities as part ofThe Giving Pledge.[43] Rubenstein is well known for his "patriotic philanthropy" focused on preservation ofAmerican history and historic sites.[44][45]
In December 2007 Rubenstein purchased the last privately owned copy ofMagna Carta atSotheby's auction house in New York for $21.3 million.[46] He has lent it to theNational Archives in Washington, D.C.[47] In 2011, Rubenstein gave $13.5 million to the National Archives for a new gallery and visitor center.[48]
In November 2013, he bought a copy of theBay Psalm Book for $14.1 million, the first book printed inBritish North America; it was the highest price ever paid for a printed book.[54][55] Rubinstein loaned the book toDuke University, where it was publicly displayed.[56]
Rubenstein was vice chairman of the board of theLincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, and chairman of its fundraising drive. A new atrium was named for him.[57]
Rubenstein contributed $111 million to theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, making him the largest individual contributor in the Kennedy Center's history.[58] This includes a $50 million donation in 2013 to fund half of a 65,000 square-foot addition to the center.[59] Rubenstein spent 14 years on the Kennedy Center board, to which he was appointed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush.[58] He was appointed chairman of the board in 2010 and was subsequently reelected.[58] He announced his intention to leave the board in January 2025, but agreed to remain chair until September 2026 pending a nationwide search for a successor.[58] The Kennedy Center board was historically nonpartisan, but in February 2025, PresidentDonald Trump orchestrated a takeover of the Center, firing all 18 members of the board of trustees who had been appointed by PresidentJoe Biden, and replacing them with loyalists.[60][61] Trump also removed Rubenstein as chair of board and installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center.[62]
In 2009, Rubinstein began a six-year term as a citizen member of the board of regents of theSmithsonian Institution.[63] He was reappointed in 2015,[64] and in 2021 was named chairman of the board of regents.[65] His term expired in 2021.[66][67] He also served as chair of theNational Book Festival.[65]
He also donated $10 million to theNational Gallery of Art (NGA) in support of refurbishment and expansion of theEast Building; the project was completed in September 2016. Rubenstein contributed $10 million in 2021 to support the NGA's digital and other operations. In 2021, he was named chairman of the NGA's board of trustees, replacingSharon Rockefeller, who retired.[73] Rubenstein donated $5 million to theNational Air and Space Museum to support an exhibit on theWright brothers and the early history of aviation.[74]
In 2013 and 2015, he donated a total of $20 million[78] to theThomas Jefferson Foundation, which was used to rebuild at least two buildings in the enslaved community onMulberry Row atMonticello, Jefferson's home. The funds were also used to restore Jefferson's original road scheme, restore Monticello's second and third stories, which were mostly empty, and replace infrastructure.[79]
In 2014, Rubenstein donated $12 million towards the refurbishment ofArlington House atArlington National Cemetery.[81][82] The work was completed in 2021.[82] He supported legislation to removeRobert E. Lee's name from the building (which is formally known as “Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial").[82]
OnPresidents' Day 2016, Rubenstein presented a gift of $18.5 million to the National Park Foundation to expand educational resources, foster public access, and repair and restore theLincoln Memorial on theNational Mall in Washington, D.C. The Park Service plans to create 15,000 square feet of visitor space in theundercroft of the memorial.[85] This gift, presented duringNational Park Service's centennial year, was Rubenstein's fourth gift to benefit US national parks.[86]
In 2019, Rubenstein donated $10 million for upgrades to theThomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.; the gift funded a new and expanded museum within the memorial, accessibility improvement, and expanded exhibit space.[87][88] Work began in December 2021 and is expected to be complete in the spring of 2025.[88]
In November 2015, he donated $20 million for the New Commons Building at theInstitute for Advanced Study in Princeton NJ. The building will be named Rubenstein Commons and will feature conference space, meeting rooms, a cafe, and office space.[91]
Rubenstein has donated over $100 million to Duke University and served as chair of its board of trustees from 2013 to 2017.[92] Rubenstein's first large gift to Duke was in 2002, when he donated $5 million to Duke'sSanford School of Public Policy in 2002; that gift led to the naming of Rubenstein Hall.[93] In 2009, he donated an additional $5.75 million to support Duke's public policy program.[94] In 2011, he donated $13.6 million to the Duke University Libraries in support of renovating the university's special collections library, which was named the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.[95] In 2012, he donated $15 million to support the university's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative[96] and $10 million to support Duke Athletics.[97] In 2013, Rubenstein donated $10 million to fund graduate fellowships and undergraduate internships at theSanford School of Public Policy.[98] In 2014, Rubenstein donated $1.9 million to Jewish Life at Duke to expand programming, fund building renovations and enhance the college experience for Jewish students.[99] In 2015, Rubenstein gave $25 million towards the construction of a new 71,000-square foot Arts Center.[100] In 2017, he donated $20 million to endow scholarships for first-generation, low-income students.[101]
Rubenstein was elected to the board of trustees of the University of Chicago on May 31, 2007.[102] He became chair of the Board in 2022.[103]
Between 2010 and 2022, Rubenstein donated $61 million to theUniversity of Chicago Law School for its Rubenstein Scholars Program, which provides full-tuition scholarships for about 10 percent of the university's law students.[103] In 2014, he provided the lead funding for a forum to serve as the university's principal conference center.[104]
Rubenstein has donated $60 million to the Harvard Kennedy School[105] to facilitate its fellowship program and to help build its new campus. He chairs the Harvard Global Advisory Council. Rubenstein was a Fellow of theHarvard Corporation, the governing body of Harvard University,[106] from 2017 to 2023.[107]
In October 2015, Rubenstein donated $15 million to the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at theJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine to create a new hearing center focused on restoring functional hearing loss.[108] In January 2021, he donated an additional $15 million to the same department to support development of therapeutic approaches to preserve and restore hearing.[109] He is also an Emeritus Trustee of the Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees.[110]
Rubenstein has donated $10 million to PBS to help fundKen Burns documentaries and $5 million to the PBS affiliate in Washington,WETA, to help fund a new headquarters.[112]
In May 2022, Rubenstein announced a $15 million donation to theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum to support and expand the growth of its collection. The gift aided in the museum exceeding its $1 billion fundraising goal a year early, and as a result, the museum’s collection previously known as the National Institute for Holocaust Documentation was renamed the David M. Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation in his honor.[113][114]
2011, National Archives Foundation’s Records of Achievement Award, for his loan of the 1297 Magna Carta as well as a rare Stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence to the National Archives for public display[117]
Harvard University – Harvard President Drew Faust named David Rubenstein a Fellow of Harvard College on May 25, 2016, the evening before their 2016 Commencement. He started his term in July 2017.[139]
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