Showbiz 411 reported:
The Kennedy Center, under David Rubenstein and Deborah Rutter, has made its worst publicity mistake ever. After receiving $25 million in the stimulus package to keep the place going, this pair dismissed the National Symphony Orchestra with one week’s notice.
On Friday, March 13th Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein asked regional CEOs what they were doing to address the coronavirus with employees, shareholders and other groups they serve. He and former Obama HHS Chief Sylvia Burwell talked about a recent Council on Foreign Relations meeting where they discussed global response to the coronavirus. CFR published an article suggesting the Federal Reserve Bank/Treasury invest in junk bonds, most of which are issued by private equity firms.
Burwell is now President of American University and stressed their shift to employees working from home. The National Symphony Orchestra did not have that option.
Kennedy Center will cease paying all salary and benefits to the musicians will end on April 3 and not resume until the virus scare is over and performances resume.Rubenstein confessed he tried to hire Dr. Anthony Fauci at The Carlyle Group in a USA Today column.
“This decision, from an organization with an endowment of nearly $100 million, is not only outrageous — coming after the musicians had expressed their willingness to discuss ways to accommodate the Kennedy Center during this challenging time — it is also blatantly illegal under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. That agreement specifically requires that the Center provide six weeks’ notice before it can stop paying musicians for economic reasons,” said Ed Malaga, president of Local 161-710 of the American Federation of Musicians, in a statement.
I tried years ago, when Tony was approaching a normal retirement age, to see whether he might want after a normal lifetime of federal service to take some of his considerable skills and knowledge to the private sector. He quickly said no — money did not motivate him, serving the country did.
Fauci did not lobby the government to bail out his highly levered bets. The Carlyle Group and fellow private equity underwriters (PEU) did just that. Fed Chiefs and former Carlyle executives Jay Powell and Randall Quarles delivered for their former employer.
Rubenstein's family foundation Declaration Partners owns apartment complexes in the Washington, D. C. suburbs. There have been no reports of his waiving rent as one New York apartment owner did for his tenants.
The Carlyle Group invested in convalescent plasma in late February via blood products software maker MAK System. Any Carlyle Group profits from MAK Systems should be used to offset the damage Mr. Rubenstein's numerous organizations caused.
Update 4-12-20: When asked about federal funding for the Kennedy Center President Trump said, "“David Rubenstein does a fantastic job. He’s very much involved."
Update 4-25-20: The National Symphony Orchestra sent a letter to billionaire Rubenstein with a legal challenge to their being furloughed. The letter stated: “In particular, we write to respond to the Kennedy Center’s position, as expressed on our call yesterday, that it unilaterally can “suspend” the parties’ entire collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) because of “exigent circumstances” on one week’s notice. That position is baseless.”
Update 7-16-22: Burwell just hired former Carlyle Group Managing Director David Marchick as Dean of AU's business school.
