Walker Webcast: Carlyle’s David Rubenstein Believes “A Leader Should Really Lead” 

David Rubenstein had an option for more space when he co-founded Carlyle and set up shop in a 5,000-square-foot Washington, DC office 35 years ago. He turned it down, not wanting to be tempted to lease more square footage than the firm would ever need, Rubenstein said on this week’s Walker Webcast.  

However, as Rubenstein remarked to Jeff Bezos when interviewing him at the Economic Club of Washington, DC in 2018, “I’ve seen small things get big.” Today, Carlyle has some $300 billion of assets under management across 456 investment vehicles and operates across five continents. 

Launching a buyout firm in the nation’s capital was unusual at a time when most such companies were based in New York City or Los Angeles. But what really set Carlyle apart, and eventually provided a template for others, was the idea of diversifying beyond buyouts into other vehicles and globalizing the operation. That model didn’t become apparent to Rubenstein until about six or seven years into Carlyle’s history, he told Walker & Dunlop CEO Willy Walker. 

Rubenstein has interviewed dozens of leaders for both the Economic Club and Bloomberg Television. He distilled the insights of movers and shakers ranging from Bezos to Richard Branson and Yo-Yo Ma into a 2021 book titled “How to Lead: Wisdom from the World’s Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers.” Walker commented that his own interviewing style of due diligence and incisive questioning has drawn heavily on Rubenstein’s example.  

Yet, as onetime co-CEO of the firm he launched with Bill Conway and Dan D’Aniello, Rubenstein has formidable leadership credentials of his own. On the Walker Webcast, he broke down leadership success into three core attributes, starting with luck. For example, it was only by chance that he met Conway, via a referral from someone who declined Rubenstein’s offer to join the then-fledgling Carlyle. Together with luck comes persistence and persuasion, he said. 

Along with launching a private equity colossus and staging peer-to-peer exchanges with fellow leaders, Rubenstein is also distinguished as a philanthropist. His wide range of interests is reflected in the breadth of organizations that have benefited through his time and donations, from Johns Hopkins University to the National Archives. In particular, he’s a leader in the realm of patriotic philanthropy. 

Rubenstein shared with Walker some of the keys to his involvement in philanthropy. First, he gravitates toward organizations with which he wants to be involved, as opposed to those that bolster a resume. Second, he doesn’t play golf, which leaves him with more time to devote to philanthropy. Third, he genuinely enjoys philanthropic efforts. 

Those philanthropic pursuits have seen Rubenstein serve on a number of boards, becoming chair of more than a few of them. As board chair, he eventually becomes familiar enough with the organization’s mission to try making some changes in how it works. “A leader should really lead,” Rubenstein said. 

On-demand replays of the Feb. 9 webcast are available by clicking here and through Walker & Dunlop’s Driven by Insight podcast series.