David M. Rubenstein, the co-founder and co-chief executive of one of the world’s largest private equity firms, the Carlyle Group, may be 64 years old, but he says he doesn’t plan to retire soon.
Speaking with David Bonderman, founding partner at TPG Capital, and a DealBook reporter, Peter Lattman, at DealBook’s Opportunities for Tomorrow Conference on Tuesday, Mr. Rubenstein joked that he intended to imitate Pope Benedict XVI and retire at age 85.
“I thought you meant getting control of the Vatican bank,” Mr. Bonderman retorted, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Mr. Rubenstein and Mr. Bonderman didn’t get too specific when it came to their true retirement plans and the future leadership at their competing firms.
“When you hit 60, the world looks at you differently,” Mr. Rubenstein said, adding that his firm has not yet outlined an exact succession plan, but “we’re working on it.”
“So far, I’m still holding together,” said Mr. Bonderman, who is 70. Pointing to Mr. Rubenstein, he added, “I think I look pretty good compared to this guy.”
The two also talked about how the private equity world has changed since they first started out. Carlyle now has 15 percent of its staff in China and has had to increasingly experiment with new business models, Mr. Rubenstein said.
“I think increasingly firms like ours recognize that the classic buyout model isn’t as easy to do as it used to be,” he said. “Virtually every deal we’ve done in China has been a noncontrol deal.”
The men discussed another area of the world with a lot of growth: sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. Bonderman said that “having 45 countries is a disadvantage, not an advantage” because the markets were perhaps too small for larger firms, but he pointed to opportunities around extraction and other natural resources found in the region.