Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein is one of America's policy making billionaires. Rubenstein held off the removal of private equity's preferred carried interest taxation over the last decade through his relationships with those in power.
Rubenstein indicated cryptocurrencies are here to stay.
“I think it’s here to stay. Cryptocurrency is not going away, just like gold is not going away. Yes, it’s had its ups and downs and [Wednesday] was not a good day for it but that’s true of anything that is relatively new. … It’s here because people in the market want something other than just the traditional currencies that we’ve had and whether that’s right or wrong, it’s clearly something that the market wants.”
If the market wants it, it gets it. Is there no role for government regulation to protect citizens?
He also met with President Joe Biden in his role as Kennedy Center Chairman. I imagine President Biden said something like "David, it is good to see you again."
Rubenstein's family office, Declaration Partners, is redeveloping a $1.4 billion housing complex on Boston's Bunker Hill. He is personally planning to invest in Africa.
His last three guests on Bloomberg's The David Rubenstein Show were Senator Tammy Duckworth, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Fed Chief Jerome "Jay" Powell. The last two are former private equity underwriters and likely hold some residual stake in PEU affiliates.
Greed and the lust for power has overtaken our halls of government. The Carlyle Group led the way. Even in retirement David Rubenstein has to have more. The system is designed for him to achieve just that and he had a major role in that design.
Update 5-26-21: Rubenstein's Declaration Partners has a stake in cryptocurrency broker Paxos. Did he declare that conflict in his interview?
Update 8-30-21: “I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies,” John Paulson told David Rubenstein, co-founder of Carlyle Group, on Bloomberg TV.
Update 10-23-21: Biden's Commerce Chief entered the bowels of greed and leverage at Milken and said the following:
The opposition among some lawmakers – all Republicans as well as some moderate Democrats – to raising taxes on wealthy individuals is "almost religious fervor," said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the 2021 Milken Institute Global Conference this week.
Milken, Rubenstein, Schwarzman et al created the PEU religion. They created the greed and leverage fueled fever. Raimondo should know given her PEU background.
Update 5-11-22: Fortune reported:
In the event the crypto exchange goes bankrupt, Coinbase says, its users might lose all the cryptocurrency stored in their accounts too.
Update 5-27-22 Paxos received a federal trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Paxos National Trust entity is a federally regulated entity offering custody services, stablecoin management, payment, exchange and other services. It is different from New York Department of Financial Services-chartered Paxos Trust Co.
Update 7-10-22: On Meet the Press Raimondo called the public "cranky" for giving feedback on the impact of inflation to elected leaders. It brought to mind Jared Kushner calling White House attorney resignation threats "whining." Both Raimondo and Kusher are PEUs, one Red, one Blue.
Update 1-4-23: Raimondo has been mentioned as a future Treasury Secretary should Janet Yellen move on.
Update 7-7-23: Former cryptocurrency hater BlackRock CEO Larry Fink called Bitcoin "digital gold." His firm has applied for approval for a Bitcoin ETF.
Update 8-3-24: BlackRock's Larry Fink flipped on cryptocurrencies, now calling them legit. He did so after the Trump assassination attempt. In a strange multiverse development, the shooter appeared in a BlackRock ad.
