Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein's raised his children to be private equity underwriters (PEU). Daughter Elle Rubenstein founded Manna Tree Partners, after co-founding Pt Capital with her mother Alice Rogoff Rubenstein.
Elle was 25 when she co-founded Pt Capital. Sister Alexa works for Declaration Partners, manager of the Rubenstein family fortune.
Manna Tree Partners invests in healthy food companies, often taking a minority stake. Vital Foods, Manna Tree's first investment, is an ethical producer of eggs and butter. Bloomberg reported:
“Carlyle by itself is not the kind of firm we would look to,” said Matt O’Hayer, who started Vital Farms in 2007. “Mission is really important to us. Ellie was really focused on good-for-you foods and sustainable agriculture, all the things we are about, and that made a big difference.”Yet, father and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein owns 10% of Manna Tree Partners. Ex-wife and mother of his children Alice Rogoff said all Rubenstein cares about is money. Also, David Rubenstein expects huge returns on any equity stake.
Rubenstein jokes about missing Facebook and Amazon. Through Manna Tree he can profit handsomely off plant based food, a target for his daughter's new PEU.
Even though most healthy food founders won't sell to Carlyle, they're willing to sell to Carlyle's daughter. Sounds like a bad movie.
Update 1-4-23: Ellie was appointed to the Alaska Permanent Fund board in summer 2022. Chief Investment Officer reported:
“I’m as bearish on private equity as I have ever been in my career,” Marcus Frampton, CIO of the Alaska Permanent Fund (assets: $78 billion), told his board at a recent meeting, per news reports. “We haven’t seen the correction in private equity as we have in public markets.”
He added that PE has become increasingly expensive and that many PE asset valuations were too high and needed adjusting. The fund has been overweight PE, but he plans to reassess that allocation in coming months, perhaps reducing it by four percentage points.
Update 6-9-24: Board Vice Chair Elle Rubenstein set up meetings between her PEUs and corporation staff. This is fully expected in our PEU world. Conflicts be damned.
Update 6-23-24: The Alaska Permanent Fund board hired a law firm to look into the leak of Elle Rubenstein's e-mails to a political reporter and examine their disconcerting revelations.
