David Rubenstein 2006

As a 27-year-old domestic policy aide to President Jimmy Carter, David Rubenstein earned a reputation for tireless dedication to his work. After leaving the White House, he brought the same inexhaustible energy to building the global private equity powerhouse known as the Carlyle Group. Over the years, former secretaries of state and defense, a former British prime minister -- even a President of the United States -- have served the group as directors or advisers. Although Carlyle earned an early reputation for expertise in defense and aerospace, its interests run the gamut: automotive and transportation, consumer and retail, energy and power, health care, telecom and media. David Rubenstein's matchless network of Washington contacts has given the Carlyle Group a powerful public image of authority and influence, but the most numerous beneficiaries of the group's investments are the millions of ordinary men and women whose pensions are invested in Carlyle funds. Rubenstein's contributions to the life of the nation's capital extend beyond the realms of business and government. He currently serves as Chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In this podcast, recorded at the 2006 International Achievement Summit in Los Angeles, California, David Rubenstein gives a surprisingly humorous account of the many setbacks he encountered on his career path, from serving as an adviser to President Carter to creating the world's leading private equity firm.