The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group [Paperback]

Dan Briody (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2004

A penetrating look at the company at the nexus of big business, government, and defense

The Carlyle Group is one of the largest private equity firms in the world with over $13 billion in funds. Carlyle's investments include everything from defense contractors to telecommunications and aerospace companies. But there is more to this company than meets the eye. Carlyle's executives include heavyweights from the worlds of business and politics, such as former secretary of defense and CIA deputy director Frank Carlucci, former secretary of state James Baker III, former President George Bush, former UK Prime Minister John Major, and former chairman of the SEC Arthur Levitt. Osama Bin Laden's estranged family was personally invested in the group until recently. In The Iron Triangle, journalist Dan Briody examines a company at the nexus of big business, government, and defense that, according to some sources, epitomizes corporate cronyism, conflicts of interest, and war profiteering. This fascinating examination leads readers into a w orld that few can imagine-full of clandestine meetings, quid pro quo deals, bitter ironies, and pettyjealousies. And the cast of characters includes some of the most powerful men in the world. Strap in, because this ride could get a little bumpy.

Dan Briody (New York, NY) is an award-winning business journalist whose Red Herring article "Carlyle's Way" broke the story on the inner workings of the Carlyle Group. Briody has appeared on numerous radio and television programs covering the Carlyle Group and has become a primary source for other journalists covering this story. Briody's articles have appeared in Forbes, Red Herring, and the Industry Standard.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…strongly recommended to anyone who enjoys a good conspiracy theory.” (The Spectator, 21^st January 2006)

From the Inside Flap

To the outside observer, the Carlyle Group–one of the largest private equity firms in the world–may seem like just another company trying to maneuver its way through the complex world of finance and investing. But there is more to this organization than meets the eye. With $14 billion under management, an employee roster that reads like a who’s who from the worlds of business and politics, and hundreds of defense, aerospace, telecom, and healthcare companies in its portfolio, the Carlyle Group operates within a powerful and profitable world known as the iron triangle–a place where industry, government, and the military converge.

But, for the Carlyle Group, doing business at the murky intersection of Washington politics, national security, and private capital has come at a price. According to some, the Carlyle Group is a company that epitomizes corporate cronyism, conflicts of interest, and war profiteering–and they may be right.

In The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group, award-winning business journalist Dan Briody closely examines the dealings of this group and explores the high-powered individuals who make up a company which is enigmatically self-described as "a vast interlocking global network." You’ll go inside the Carlyle Group and watch how deals are made and governments swayed to accept the Carlyle way. And you’ll learn how questions abound when you’re playing for keeps.

Witness how the Carlyle Group:

• Profited from the September 11th terrorist attacks and continues to profit from the ongoing war on terrorism
• Pried open the wallets of Saudi Arabia and South Korea through the whirlwind business trips of former President George Bush
• Liquidated holdings from the estranged family of Osama bin Laden only after news reports revealed the company’s association with the family
• Went into overdrive to save the outdated Crusader howitzer which was being built by United Defense–a Carlyle company
• Was born through the Great Eskimo Tax Scam–a tax loophole used by cofounders Stephen Norris and David Rubenstein that has since been sewn up
• Found what would become their identity–defense contracting–with the help of former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci

Full of clandestine meetings, quid pro quo deals, bitter ironies, and petty jealousies, The Iron Triangle is a penetrating investigation that will lead you into a world that few could ever imagine. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (August 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471660620
• ISBN-13: 978-0471660620
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captains and the Kings, November 28, 2004

By 

Seachranaiche (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group (Hardcover)

Taylor Caldwell described this kind of thing fictionally in her novel, Captains and the Kings, but her story deals with Gilded Era robber barons whose machinations, though plenty effective in their time, seem juvenile when compared to what is going on at Carlyle today.

Those of us who cling to a belief in America as our faith suffer most, I believe, from the documentation of this level of corruption in our midst. Those who are not politically active, or who will not see the evidence before their eyes, might simply state that Washington is corrupt, always has been, and there's nothing we can do about it. Well, all of these presumptions are untrue: when this level of corruption arose within the Grant, Garfield, and Nixon administrations, action was taken to correct the problem. Of course, the first two events occurred prior to the 17th Amendment, the beginning of our demise. When Theodore Roosevelt came along he socked it to these kinds of guys, but good, and bought us 50 or 60 years of relatively effective government.

Dan Briody has written a well-researched, well-documented account of incalculable greed and corruption run amok. In an earlier time, the publication of a book like this would have set off a maelstrom of investigations and indictments. Why is it that our current administration and the Carlyle Group feel immune from censure or prosecution? Repeat after me:

Repeal the 16th Amendment
Repeal the 17th Amendment
Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine
Enforce Sherman Anti-trust

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A facinating look at a scary direction in American business, April 29, 2003

By 

"jwendroff2" (Los Angeles, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group (Hardcover)

The intersection of politics and business is quite apparent with the current Bush administration, but this book takes us deep into the dangers inherent in such a close alignment of the public and private sectors. The scariest part of this book is not that fact that the type of political favors and influence peddling described occur, but that there is little oversight in the government or media to prevent or expose it.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who is concerned about the influence of business on government policy, especially with the current global political climate.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courageous must-read book!, April 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group (Hardcover)

If a Ludlum novel had a CIA hitman, the father of the president and the world's biggest terrorist's brother sitting down together at a company meeting while the Trade Center was being bombed; and then went on to disclose that the company had invested in companies that specialize in anthrax clean-up, airport security devices, and defense equiptment - it would be considered far fetched. This brave book says it is real. It is Bush, Baker, Carlucci, Levitt and bin-Laden in the scariest book in print.