It's been fairly slow for private equity dealmakers lately. So what to do? How about spend $21.3 million for the Magna Carta?

Well, that's what Carlyle's co-founder, David Rubenstein, did yesterday at Sotheby's.

Actually, Rubenstein is a political junkie. Rubenstein served as deputy domestic policy advisor in President Carter's White House. His political savvy has been a nice complement to his dealmaking.

Of course, the Magna Carta is an amazing document, which helped to spark revolutions, such as free speech and even capitalism.

The good news is that Rubenstein isn't going to have the document as an ornament for his office. Instead, he plans to lend it to the National Archives.

The prior owner was the outspoken billionaire, Ross Perot, who purchased the document in 1983 for a mere $1.5 million.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein buys Magna Carta originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.