The Carlyle Hotel
What: The private equity firm was named for the luxury hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where founders Stephen Norris and David Rubenstein frequently met to discuss the investment group’s business plans in the late 80s. In the spring of 1987, they decided upon the name.
Why: The Carlyle Hotel was a favorite of one of the group’s first investors. And Stephen Norris also loved the hotel, which had been the home of André Mayer, one of his heroes. The French-born Mayer was once the head of the investment banking firm Lazard Freres & Co., and is known as the “Picasso of Banking” due to his financial innovations and contributions to American business. Mayer was instrumental in revitalizing U.S. business after World War II.
Get this: In 2007, David Rubenstein paid $21.32 million at Sotheby’s auction house in New York to buy the only privately-owned copy of the Magna Carta. It can be seen at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
David Rubenstein is a regular at Davos. What’s he got to say about this year’s summit? Find out on Marketplace.
