Episode 168: David Rubenstein

My guest today is the cofounder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, David Rubenstein. David’s The Carlyle Group is one of the world’s largest and most successful private equity firms. He is the Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award. We discuss his book “How to Lead” during this podcast episode.

The 5 questions I ask in this episode:

1. David, I’ve spoken with a variety of leaders about how they are navigating this crisis and they are all in agreement that trust is the most important asset right now. What did you learn from all of your interviews on how to build and cultivate trust?
2. How has collecting stories of successful people affected you personally, changed your outlook on life, and made you a better leader?
3. What do you find are the common qualities all successful leaders have in common and what are some of the unique qualities you’ve discovered that separate them?
4. You’ve amassed a fortune in private equity and have also taken the giving pledge to donate half of your wealth to charities of your choosing. What would you say to persuade other prominent people to be more philanthropic and how do you decide which causes to donate to?
5. What’s your best piece of career advice?

Video interview

Follow David’s journey:

• Website
• Book
• Twitter