A native of Baltimore, Mr. Rubenstein is a 1970 magna cum laude graduate of Duke, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Following Duke, Mr. Rubenstein graduated in 1973 from The University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review. From 1973-75, Mr. Rubenstein practiced law in New York. From 1975-76 he served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments. From 1977-1981, during the Carter Administration, Mr. Rubenstein was Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. After his White House service and before co-founding Carlyle, Mr. Rubenstein practiced law in Washington with Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge. Mr. Rubenstein co-founded The Carlyle Group in 1987. Since then, Carlyle has grown into a firm managing more than $150 billion from 36 offices around the world.
Mr. Rubenstein is among the group of American billionaires who have pledged to donate more than half of their wealth to philanthropic causes or charities as part of The Giving Pledge. Mr. Rubenstein has also invested countless hours of his time in support of corporate and non-profit advisory groups. Some of the primary beneficiaries of Mr. Rubenstein's service and philanthropic support include Duke University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago Law School, The Young Global Leaders Foundation, and the Library of Congress. Elected to the Duke University Board of Trustees in 2005, he currently serves as chair.