691. Is This What a “Good Billionaire” Looks Like?

For half a century, David Rubinstein has been part of the Washington establishment. He started out as a lawyer on Capitol Hill, then he worked on domestic policy in the Carter White House. But what made him famous and very rich was the Carlisle Group, a private equity firm he co-founded in nineteen eighty seven and where he is still co-chairman. Carlyle did not invent the Washington revolving door between government service and high end finance, but

It certainly capitalized on it, and Rubinstein thrived. And he came to epitomize a Washington that was relatively moderate and bipartisan. He spent many millions of dollars on what he calls patriotic philanthropy, helping restore the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, for instance. He's bought rare copies of America's founding documents to put on public display. And he's given millions more to a vast array of educational, cultural and civic causes like the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Where he was chairman for more than a decade until recently. When that came to an abrupt end. I'm the only person ever to be fired by a president and succeeded by him at the same time. But even that doesn't seem To have shaken Rubinstein's faith.

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