Billionaire businessman David Rubenstein owns Magna Carta, the Emancipation Proclamation — and now the Baltimore Orioles.
Rubenstein, who at age 74 is worth an estimated $3.9 billion, spent much of his fortune buying rare documents and restoring historic buildings like the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
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But now the businessman and philanthropist has ventured into sports by striking a deal to take control of the Orioles.
Rubenstein recently agreed to purchase the MLB team from the Angelos family for $1.725 billion.
The Baltimore native initially took a 40% ownership stake in the Orioles with a deal to buy out the remaining equity following the death of family patriarch Peter Angelos.
Angelos died at age 92 last month.
Among Rubenstein’s ownership group are NBA legend Grant Hill and Orioles icon Cal Ripken Jr.
“Having a team that’s in your hometown and that you’ve seen grow up is great,” Rubenstein told The Athletic.
“The reception in Baltimore so far has been good.
“Maybe being from Baltimore was helpful. Maybe they’re happy to have a new page turned.”
Rubenstein, co-founder of private equity firm The Carlyle Group, is one of the richest people in America and one of Washington DC’s most prominent philanthropists.
He donated $18.5 million to restore the Lincoln Memorial, as well as $7.5 million to repair the Washington Monument, which was damaged in an earthquake.
Rubenstein also spent millions on significant historical documents — such as $21.3 million for one of four copies of the Magna Carta in 2007 — which he has since donated to museums such as the National Archives.
“I could be like the pharaohs and say, ‘Bury me with my money,’” said Rubenstein The New York Times in 2009.
“Or I could start donating it.”
“My opinion is that if you have money, you can spend it, save it or donate it,” he added.
“I bought all the things I need to buy.”
Rubenstein rose from modest beginnings to become one of the most successful businessmen in the United States.
The only child of a father who worked for the U.S. Postal Service and a homemaker mother, he grew up in northwest Baltimore, then an almost exclusively Jewish neighborhood.
Neither of his parents finished high school or graduated from college.
“When I was a kid, I didn’t think about money because I didn’t have money,” he said.
Academically gifted, Rubenstein obtained an academic scholarship to Duke for his undergraduate degree and then attended law school at the University of Chicago.
He worked as a lawyer and later entered politics as a domestic policy consultant in the Carter administration.
“I managed to take inflation to 19% and the country didn’t want me to stay”, he joked.
In 1987, he moved into private equity, founding Carlyle with William Conway Jr. and Daniel D’Aniello.
Rubenstein was linked to a move to acquire MLB’s Washington Nationals before landing the Orioles.
Now there are high hopes that Rubenstein’s deep pockets will help lead the Orioles to World Series glory.
“My job is to stand out and hire really good people” he told Axios.
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