David Rubenstein turned $5M into a $500B private equity empire at Carlyle—here's how he recruited world leaders, missed a $14B Amazon opportunity, and built one of history's greatest investment firms from a scrappy Washington office. Rubenstein raised $5M from four investors in 1987 and grew Carlyle to manage $500B by recruiting high-profile advisors like former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci and Secretary of State Jim Baker, who opened doors his name alone could not.