Carlyle Group

Carlyle Group manages approximately $435 billion in assets, founded in 1987 in Washington DC with a distinctive focus on government-adjacent industries including defense, aerospace, and telecommunications. The firm's early reputation for leveraging political connections -- its advisory board included George H.W. Bush and John Major -- has evolved into a diversified global platform spanning 570 active portfolio companies. Carlyle's $8.5 billion acquisition of Hertz in 2005 and subsequent bankruptcy is studied in business schools as a cautionary LBO tale.