Private equity firms earn a spot on this list by growing a large fund or funds that typically lead to consistent profits over time. Considering fundraising over the past five years, total assets under management, and similar criteria, here are the best private equity firms operating today. Founded by two brothers in 1985, Blackstone has ballooned to become the largest private equity firm in the world. Because Blackstone is a public company, you can buy shares on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker BX. Blackstone claims $648 billion under management and employs over 2,400 staff. It raised $58.3 billion over the past five years. Its 95 portfolio companies earn more than $79 billion in annual revenue and employ 470,000 people. Portfolio companies include Vivint, Scout 24, Service King Collision Repair Centers, and Versace. Major business lines at the Carlyle Group include private equity, real estate, global credit, and investment solutions. Carlyle focuses on 10 core industries that it considers its areas of expertise. It employs 1,600 people in its offices around the world. Carlyle’s more than 200 portfolio companies stretch across industries such as aerospace, health care, technology, and energy. Those companies employ a combined 650,000 workers on every continent but Antarctica. While they are not all household names, major investments include Centennial Resource Production, DiscoverOrg Holding, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, the Nature’s Bounty, Veritas Holdings, and Wesco Aircraft Holdings. The public can buy into Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on the New York Stock Exchange under symbol KKR. Like other large private equity firms, KKR is involved in several areas of business, including real estate, hedge funds, credit, and other financial services. KKR has 1,300 employees and is headquartered in New York City. Portfolio companies include some big names, like First Data, GoDaddy, Lyft, PEMEX Midstream, UFC, and others. A recent investment that drew KKR to the headlines was Toys ‘R Us, which filed for bankruptcy and shut down more than 800 stores in 2018. The company was founded in 1992 and has completed more than 175 transactions. Major holdings include computer security company McAfee. Major investments include Neiman Marcus, Harrah’s Entertainment, First Data, and Univision Communications. With TPG’s dual headquarters in the hearts of oil country and Silicon Valley, it is no surprise to see energy and technology as two of the company’s top focus industries. Other industries include retail, health care, real estate, and industrials. This global firm employs 1,100 people and is known for leveraged buyouts and buying distressed companies. Since inception, it has held more than 150 portfolio companies. Those companies include ADT, Claire’s, Caesars Entertainment, CareerBuilder, Qdoba, and Rackspace. Half of Apollo’s investments come from public pensions and sovereign wealth funds. This is evidence that many large and sophisticated investors put a lot of trust in Apollo. This private equity firm operates in credit, public equity, venture capital, and real estate markets. Some major brands that have passed through the Bain portfolio in the past decade or so include Clear Channel Communications, Canada Goose, Virgin Holidays Cruises, and Bugaboo International. Other major past holdings include Staples, Sports Authority, Guitar Center, Gymboree, Houghton Mifflin, Domino’s Pizza, Burger King, the Weather Channel, and Brookstone. Fund expertise areas include the socially conscious Bain Capital Double Impact division, Bain Capital Life Sciences, and Bain Capital Real Estate. Looking at Bain’s past portfolio, you can also see a preference for retail, restaurants, and other consumer brands. In the past five years, Warburg Pincus has attracted $30.8 billion in new capital. This firm is organized into the energy, financial, health care and consumer, industrial and business services, and technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. Some noteworthy investments include 1&1 Hosting, Avaya, PayScale, Mariner Finance, and a wide range of foreign firms. CVC Capital manages $114.8 billion in assets. It focuses primarily on private equity and credit. While it has a more boutique focus, CVC is anything but a boutique firm. It originated as the European division of Citicorp Venture Capital before becoming its own company in 1993. The firm has 61 current portfolio companies. Major investments have included Formula One Group, Petco, Avast, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Breitling, Republic Finance, Pilot Flying J, Samsonite, Skrill, and others.
