The Carlyle Group is a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C. It has a reputation as a highly secretive, politically connected investor with particular expertise in the defense sector, among others. It has 64 funds investing in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance. Fund investments range across diverse sectors, from automotive to telecom.

Among the luminaries on its current and former roster: former U.S. president George H.W. Bush, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissior Arthur Levitt Jr., ex-IBM chief Lou Gerstner and former U.S. Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci.

Instead of going public as once planned, the firm has been cutting back amid the downturn. Carlyle recently announced plans to cut 10% of its staff and close its Silicon Valley office. Its publicly traded affiliate, Carlyle Capital Corp., liquidated a hedge fund invested in mortgage-backed securities as the housing market collapsed. The firm recently raised a new $14 billion buyout fund.