# Carlyle Group **The Carlyle Group** is the Washington-based private-equity firm co-founded in 1987 by David Rubenstein, William Conway and Daniel D'Aniello, among others. It made its name by hiring former senior officials and investing in defense. It now manages about **$485 billion** (June 30, 2026). Its CEO since February 2023 is Harvey Schwartz, formerly of Goldman Sachs. It is in the vault as the template for the revolving door between government and private capital, and through its ties to the [[Bush Family]] and [[Jerome Powell]]. ## The ex-presidents' club - **Frank Carlucci,** Reagan's defense secretary, chaired the firm from 1992 to 2003. - **[[George H.W. Bush]]** was a senior adviser, including to its Asian funds, until he retired on October 22, 2003. Former Secretary of State James Baker also advised the firm, and former British Prime Minister John Major attended its conferences. - **The bin Ladens.** The Saudi bin Laden family had just over $2 million committed to a Carlyle fund; it withdrew at the end of October 2001. - **Jerome Powell** was a Carlyle partner from 1997 to 2005, running its U.S. industrial buyout group. That came between his Treasury post under George H.W. Bush and his 2012 appointment to the Fed board. ## Defense today Carlyle funds co-led the equity portion of a **$1 billion** Series C for **[[Castelion]]**, the hypersonic-missile start-up founded by former SpaceX engineers, at a **$13 billion** valuation (August 2026), alongside JPMorgan's strategic investment arm and [[Andreessen Horowitz]]. Castelion has more than $500 million in military contracts. A firm that once traded on former officials now competes for the new defense-tech money. See [[Defense Tech Conflicts of Interest]]. ## Rubenstein and Trump David Rubenstein chaired the [[Kennedy Center]] from 2010 until Trump, on February 7, 2025, said he would fire the board "including the Chairman" and take the chair himself. Two months later Rubenstein said publicly that CEOs are afraid to criticize Trump. In April 2026 he said the renamed center will again be a "great living memorial" to Kennedy. ## See Also - [[Bush Family]] · [[George H.W. Bush]] · [[Jerome Powell]] · [[Revolving Door]] - [[Castelion]] · [[Defense Tech Conflicts of Interest]] · [[Private Equity Sector]] · [[Kennedy Center]]