Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein and CEO Glenn Youngkin gave multiple interviews to business media at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Both men attended the businessperson breakfast with President Donald Trump and shared their experience.
Youngkin avoided a question on resolving the conflict with Taylor Swift. He lamented that private equity "had not done a great job of helping people understand what we really do."
Interviewers did not ask why Carlyle reneged on its lead developer role for the Corpus Christi oil port which will handle very large tanker ships. Youngkin did not offer the reason why Carlyle exited the project, while being sued by its development partner. Interesting Rubenstein cited the oil patch as ripe for private equity investment.
Interviews also avoided Carlyle's running refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions into more than one bankruptcy, such that former employees do not have access to COBRA health coverage. Sponsor Carlyle siphoned off massive funds from PES prior to the initial bankruptcy. Youngkin did lament the lack of public understanding of the good private equity accomplishes, a meme pushed by former boss Rubenstein.
Mr. Rubenstein suggested entitlement cuts are needed due to the cost of those commitments. He then punted on an income inequality question after saying there are over 8.500 private equity firms who own tens of thousands of companies.
He did manage to say there aren't enough rich people to pay the needed taxes, so they should get a pass?
David Rubenstein went from panelist to moderator for a session on the Future of America's Foreign Policy. He did cite his Chairmanship of the Council on Foreign Relations, another group of global tamperers intent on opening up markets to Western corporations.
Former Congresswoman Jane Harman served on the panel. Not one interviewer asked her about the board seat at Iridium, the giant satellite company. Harman controls over $1.2 million in Iridium stock.
All the interviewers did their jobs such that they will get to interview Mr. Rubenstein and Mr. Youngkin again. PEU legends hit softballs galore at Davos.
Update 2-10-20: Davos in hindsight produced "it’s always been a bit of a mystery to me what the World Economic Forum does anyway, other than to provide a nice January Alpine break for the very powerful. After all, it’s not as if anything much seems to get done." Plenty gets done outside the presentations as CEOs attend Davos to do deals.
