Megafund PE Fund Sizes Standardized

Standardized Megafund PE Fund Sizes: Top 20 PE Firms

Rankings reflect total capital raised in latest corporate private equity buyout strategies only. Excludes funds focused on infrastructure, growth equity, real estate, impact, secondaries, or credit.

1. KKR: $37 billion
2. CVC: $36 billion
3. Blackstone: $32 billion
4. EQT: $32 billion
5. Advent International: $31 billion
6. TPG: $27 billion
7. CD&R: $26 billion
8. Carlyle: $26 billion
9. Bain Capital: $25 billion
10. Thoma Bravo: $22 billion
11. Warburg: $22 billion
12. H&F: $22 billion
13. Silver Lake: $21 billion
14. Vista Equity: $21 billion
15. Apollo: $20 billion
16. Permira: $18 billion
17. TA Associates: $17 billion
18. Cinven: $15 billion
19. New Mountain: $15 billion
20. Leonard Green: $15 billion

Comparing firms by flagship fund size alone can be misleading. Some platforms such as KKR, Blackstone, and Carlyle raise multiple regional vehicles across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, while others like CD&R consolidate global capital into a single fund. As a result, headline figures do not always reflect the true scale of a firm’s corporate private equity platform.

Bain Capital is often labeled not a megafund when looking at the U.S. flagship in isolation. However, once global fundraising is taken into account, Bain’s total buyout capital places it firmly among the ten largest platforms worldwide. This disconnect highlights the importance of standardizing for structure when comparing across firms.

Even standardized figures have their limitations. Apollo, for example, is more credit-oriented, and its $20 billion flagship size excludes their most recent $5 billion Hybrid Value Fund. Including that capital would likely move Apollo into the top ten. 

It is also worth noting that younger, tech-focused firms such as Thoma Bravo and Vista do not yet manage regional buyout funds and tend to operate with smaller senior teams. While this results in lower total AUM, it can translate to more meaningful carry per partner.

Carry structures vary as well. Some firms allocate economics on a deal-by-deal basis, while others use a pooled model across global funds. These differences in architecture and incentive alignment are important when evaluating overall platform scale and economics.

Flagship fund size alone is an incomplete lens for comparing private equity platforms. It also provides little insight into the structure and magnitude of senior-level compensation across firms.