A proprietary ranking of private equity firms by Private Equity International (PEI media) has reported in its May 2008 issue that the world's 50 largest private equity firms have together raised $810 billion equivalent to 65 per cent of the total private equity investrment of $1,246 billion raised over the last five years ending last month from 2003-2007.

Topping the list are are Carlyle, Goldman Sachs, TPG, KKR and CVC. Carlyle had also ranked on top when the PEI 50 debuted last year, having raised $32.5 billion over five years. It was followed by KKR, Goldman Sachs, The Blackstone Group and TPG.

World's Top 5 PE firms

• Carlyle with $52 billion raised
• Goldman Sachs with 49 billion raised
• TPG with $48.75 billion raised,
• Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with $39.67 billion
• CVC Capital Partners at $36.84 billion.

Established in 1987, Washington-based Carlyle has 60 individual funds totalling over $81.1 billion under management spread across four investment disciplines - buyout, venture and growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance invested in over 600 investments.
The magazine said that the Top 50 in this year's list raised 47 per cent more than those in last year's list and added that 34 of the Top 50 were headquarterd in North America, 11 in the UK and five were European-headquarterd firms.

Carlyle-affiliated private equity funds have drawn commitments of $52 billion (€33 billion) since 1 January 2003, outpacing the private equity fundraising of number two on the list, Goldman Sachs' Principal Investment Area, by nearly $3 billion over the same time period.
Working on background with many of the firms themselves as well as with market sources and industry data services, PEI determines the rankings based on the amount of private equity direct-investment capital raised by each firm over the past five years.

The PEI 50 2008 has also ranked private equity firms based on the amount of private equity direct-investment capital raised over a roughly five-year time period . The methodology includes capital raised or formed for buyouts, venture capital, growth equity, distressed-for-control and mezzanine debt strategies. It excludes funds of funds, hedge funds, debt funds, infrastructure and real estate funds.

Together, the largest 50 private equity firms in the world have raised $810 billion over the defined five-year period, a 47 per cent increase over the $551 billion raised by the 50 largest firms during the five-year window ending a year ago.

 ''This year's rankings show an incredible surge in fundraising over the past year, with the largest firms in the world gaining the lion's share of it," David Snow, executive editor and director of PEI Media. "The rankings were also significantly influenced by the weakened dollar, as well as by investor interest in energy-sector and turnaround strategies.''

This year's PEI 50 reveals that all but one firm has changed position vis a vis its peers, and there are 11 new additions to the list (and 11 firms that are no longer on the list). Together, the top 50 private equity firms in the world have raised an aggregate of $810 billion over the past five years, a notable increase from the amount raised in the five-year window ending a year ago
This year, the 50th firm, New York-based Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, raised $5.88 billion over the specified time period.
1 The Carlyle Group
2 Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area
3 TPG
4 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
5 CVC Capital Partners
6 Apollo Management
7 Bain Capital
8 Permira
9 Apax Partners
10 The Blackstone Group
11 Warburg Pincus
12 3i Group
13 Advent International
14 Terra Firma Capital Partners
15 American Capital
16 Providence Equity Partners
17 Silver Lake
18 Cerberus Capital Management
19 AIG Investments
20 Fortress Investment Group
21 General Atlantic
22 PAI partners
23 First Reserve Corporation
24 EQT Partners
25 Hellman & Friedman
26 Cinven
27 Bridgepoint
28 Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
29 Teachers' Private Capital
30 Charterhouse Capital Partners
31 Lehman Brothers Private Equity
32 Thomas H. Lee Partners
33 BC Partners
34 AXA Private Equity
35 NGP Energy Capital Management
36 Oaktree Capital Management
37 Marfin Investment Group
38 Sun Capital Partners
39 Doughty Hanson & Co.
40 JC Flowers & Co.
41 TA Associates
42 Eurazeo
43 New Mountain Capital
44 MatlinPatterson
45 WL Ross & Co.
46 EnCap Investments
47 Madison Dearborn Partners
48 Barclays Private Equity
49 Onex
50 Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe