David Rubenstein, billionaire co-founder of Carlyle Group, told the approximately 2,000 person SALT audience on Wednesday that the hedge fund and private equity industry was "under attack."
Rubenstein suggested an unusual response to a traditionally secretive industry: public relations.
"All of us have an obligation to try to explain ... what the hedge fund industry and the private equity industry does that is useful," Rubenstein said, noting cash-strapped public pension clients, investments that improve companies, and creating jobs. "We shouldn't be upset about what we do. We should be proud."