David Rubenstein Magna Carta cost $21M
David Rubenstein purchased one of the last privately owned copies of the Magna Carta for $21 million and loans it to museums.
Snapshot · My First Million
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Jun 24, 2026
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David Rubenstein, the man
At 37:11 · chapter starts 31:14
Sam opens with Michael Lewis's 1993 article 'The Access Capitalist,' which told the story of a young David Rubenstein finding himself unemployed at 31 after Jimmy Carter's one-term presidency [1] — Sam Parr "David Rubenstein turned a $20M profit from a barely-legal Native Alaskan tax loophole into Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest PE fir…" 31:52 . Rather than panic, Rubenstein leveraged the most valuable asset he had: a thick Rolodex of Washington insiders. He heard about an obscure Native Alaskan tax loophole — a mechanism that let holders of certain tax losses sell them to willing buyers at a discount — and organized roughly $2 billion in such transactions over two to three years, netting about $20 million for himself and his partners in what was dubbed the 'Great Eskimo Tax Scam.' That capital seeded Carlyle Group, a PE firm that would eventually specialize in defense-adjacent companies where having ex-government officials on staff translated directly into deal flow. Today Carlyle manages approximately $500 billion. But what makes Rubenstein fascinating isn't the wealth — it's the parallel career he built while running one of the world's biggest PE firms. He owns one of the last privately held copies of the Magna Carta, bought for $21 million. He owns a Lincoln-signed Emancipation Proclamation. He funded the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial restorations. He produces Ken Burns documentaries. He writes books interviewing historians and presidents. Shaan calls it 'an epic charcuterie board career,' and notes that Rubenstein's self-deprecating humor — 'I'm not really that good an investor, I just work hard and know everyone' — is exactly what makes him so disarming and effective.
David Rubenstein's Charcuterie Board Career
David Rubenstein turned a $20M profit from a barely-legal Native Alaskan tax loophole into Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest PE firms. On the side, he bought the Magna Carta for $21M, funded the Washington Monument restoration, and produces Ken Burns documentaries — a career so varied Shaan Puri called it 'an epic charcuterie board.'
Rubenstein Great Eskimo Tax Scam $20M
David Rubenstein organized roughly $2 billion in Native Alaskan tax-loss transactions, netting about $20 million that seeded the launch of Carlyle Group.
Carlyle Group $500B AUM
Carlyle Group, co-founded by David Rubenstein, now manages approximately $500 billion in assets — one of the largest private equity firms in the world.
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