A former government official,[2] he is a co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group,[3][4] a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C. Rubenstein is also the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB), acquiring the team in 2024 for $1.7 billion.

[5] Rubenstein is the chairman of the National Gallery of Art, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

He then attended Duke University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1970.

According to Phiwa Nkambule, "These concerns proved to be right, as at the end of 2007, the buyout market collapsed... As leveraged loan activity came to an abrupt stop, private equity firms were unable to secure financing for their transactions.

"[21] However, Rubenstein's outlook quickly rebounded, and in 2008, he said,"But once this period is over, once the debt on the books of the banks is sold and new lending starts, I think you'll see the private equity industry coming back in what I call the Platinum Age – better than it's ever been before.

"[22] Reflecting on this period in 2018, Rubenstein argued that "actually most of the deals done in the heyday of the Great Recession pretty much worked out," and that the private equity industry had been "strengthened so much that now it’s the greatest time we’ve ever had to raise money.

[24] In 2018, he formed Declaration Capital, a family office focused on venture, growth, real estate, and family-owned businesses.

Among others, Rubenstein interviews David McCullough on John Adams, Jon Meacham on Thomas Jefferson, Ron Chernow on Alexander Hamilton, and Walter Isaacson on Benjamin Franklin.

This book contains Rubenstein's reflections on leadership as well as 30 interviews with business, government, military, sports and cultural leaders.

[29] In September 2022, he published his fourth book under Simon and Schuster, How to Invest, where he shares insights from interviews with investors.

[31] He also hosts History with David Rubenstein on PBS, a TV show produced by the New-York Historical Society.

Rubenstein, heading an investment group that included Cal Ripken Jr., acquired the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) from Peter Angelos in 2024 for $1.725 billion.

[37][38] Ellie Rubenstein co-founded Manna Tree, a private equity firm that invests in health and nutrition companies;[39][40] she was also one of two dozen honorary co-chairs of the Alaskan chapter of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

[44][45] In December 2007 Rubenstein purchased the last privately owned copy of Magna Carta at Sotheby's auction house in New York for $21.3 million.

[52] Rubenstein acquired the 1784 Abel Buell map at Christie's in 2011 and loaned it to the Library of Congress for display.

[58] He announced his intention to leave the board in January 2025, but agreed to remain chair until September 2026 pending a nationwide search for a successor.

[62] In 2009, Rubinstein began a six-year term as a citizen member of the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

[68] He also donated $10 million to the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in support of refurbishment and expansion of the East Building; the project was completed in September 2016.

[73] Rubenstein donated $5 million to the National Air and Space Museum to support an exhibit on the Wright brothers and the early history of aviation.

[76] In 2015, Rubenstein donated $5.37 million to the National Park Foundation to fund the restoration of the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

[97] In 2013, Rubenstein donated $10 million to fund graduate fellowships and undergraduate internships at the Sanford School of Public Policy.

[104] Rubenstein has donated $60 million to the Harvard Kennedy School[105] to facilitate its fellowship program and to help build its new campus.

[108] In January 2021, he donated an additional $15 million to the same department to support development of therapeutic approaches to preserve and restore hearing.

[112] In May 2022, Rubenstein announced a $15 million donation to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to support and expand the growth of its collection.

The gift aided in the museum exceeding its $1 billion fundraising goal a year early, and as a result, the museum’s collection previously known as the National Institute for Holocaust Documentation was renamed the David M. Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation in his honor.