Billionaire private equity titan David Rubenstein told CNBC on Friday the U.S. is the best spot in the world to invest, despite Washington gridlock. "There's no place comparable," he said. "By far."
The co-founder of The Carlyle Group, with $203 billion of assets under management, said the U.S. economy is in "pretty good shape," and he expects growth of about 3 percent this year.
Still, he said on "Squawk Box," it could be better. "If we had less dysfunction in Washington, I think businesspeople would invest more and I think it would help the overall mode of the country."
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President Barack Obama plans an icebreaker meeting on Friday at the White House with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, following Tuesday's midterm election in which Republicans won control of the Senate and widened their majority in the House.
Rubenstein said he's hopeful that the GOP and Democrats can finally find a way to work together. But even if they don't, the economy should still be able to advance, he said.
"In the last four or five years, the economy has basically figured out how to go forward without depending on action in Washington," he said. "In other words, if you have a sore ... you eventually figure out how to live with the problem. And I think we've learned to live with dysfunction in Washington."
"It's an illness we've been suffering from," he continued. "If we could get rid of this sore, could get rid of this problem, I think the economy would do better."
Rubenstein was interviewed at an annual investment conference in New York City hosted by fellow billionaire investor Ron Baron, whose firm holds a stake in Carlyle.