Private Equity International magazine's ranking of the world's largest private equity firms.

Released in May 2008, Private Equity International magazine (PEI) presents the second annual PEI 50, a ranking of the largest private equity firms in the world. It is the only ranking of private equity firms by size using an apples-to-apples methodology.

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.

A  detailed ranking, along with profiles of each PEI 50 firm and our methodology is available in the May 2008 issue of Private Equity International (click here to learn more).

The 50 firms of the PEI 50 are below, and you may download an executive summary of the 2008 rankings here.

To view an executive summary of last year's PEI 50, click here.

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.

For more information on the PEI 50, contact David Snow at +1 (212) 633-1455 or david.s@peimedia.com

For an introductory overview of the private equity industry, click here. 

PEI 50 2008
A quick overview - much more detail, including fundraising totals and firm profiles, is available in the May issue of PEI (see above):

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