Facebook IPO, Private Equity, and Milken
By: One of the hottest topics at this year's Milken Institute Global Conference is bound to be the Facebook IPO.
Last year, Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein told the conference that he "blew it" when given the chance to be one of Facebook's first investors.
His son-in-law, a classmate of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, tried to set up a meeting between the two men.
Rubenstein didn't take the meeting.
"I asked myself, what are the chances of this guy becoming the next Bill Gates?" Rubenstein said. "So now I have to work for a living."
I'm sure many folks at Milken will be talking about Facebook. Is it the new Google ? Or is it Pets.com, the disgraced icon of the Internet bubble?
Last year, the "smart money" folks were already worried about Internet stock prices. Many openly mocked Groupon , for example. But with Internet stocks still running hot, will the skepticism remain? Or will the big money guys jump on board the good ship Social Media?
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