Key Takeaways
- • PEI Group's inaugural Private Markets 100 ranks the world's largest private markets managers by capital raised, showing the 100 largest raised $5.74 trillion between 2021 and 2025, according to PEI Group.
- • Blackstone led with $356.7 billion raised, followed by KKR at $302.2 billion and Goldman Sachs Alternatives at $215.3 billion.
- • The top 10 firms raised $2.04 trillion combined, or 35.5 percent of the total raised by the top 100.
- • Seven of the top 10 firms are active across all five strategies covered by the ranking: private equity, real estate, infrastructure, private credit and secondaries.
- • Ares Management showed the largest single-year shift, ranking fifth overall in the combined five-year fundraising tally, ahead of Brookfield and BlackRock.
Summary
PEI Group has published the inaugural Private Markets 100, a five-year global fundraising ranking that measures private equity, real estate, infrastructure, private credit and secondaries together for the first time. According to the report, the 100 largest private markets managers raised $5.74 trillion between 2021 and 2025, an amount PEI compares to the annual nominal GDP of Germany, which was $5.01 trillion in 2025 per IMF data.
Blackstone ranks first at $356.7 billion, followed by KKR at $302.2 billion, Goldman Sachs Alternatives at $215.3 billion, EQT at $204.3 billion and Ares Management at $191.9 billion. Brookfield Asset Management ($184.5 billion), BlackRock ($183.0 billion), TPG ($149.4 billion), The Carlyle Group ($132.5 billion) and Blue Owl Capital ($116.1 billion) complete the top 10. Those ten firms together raised $2.04 trillion, or 35.5 percent of the total. A manager needed $18.97 billion to make the list. PEI notes that figures reflect capital raised rather than assets under management, and that funds investing across strategies are allocated to one ranking rather than counted twice.
PEI's analysis indicates the largest managers are no longer single-asset-class specialists. Sixteen of the top 100 firms raised capital across all five strategies and seven of the top 10 are active in all five, while 25 firms reached the list through activity in a single asset class. Ares Management recorded the largest shift in a single year, raising more private credit than any other firm, moving from 10th to fourth in real estate and from 16th to 10th in secondaries.
The report also highlights consolidation as a driver of convergence. KKR acquired sports investor Arctos Partners, EQT acquired secondaries firm Coller Capital for up to $3.7 billion, Goldman Sachs bought Industry Ventures, General Atlantic acquired infrastructure manager Actis, and BNP Paribas completed its purchase of AXA Investment Managers. Dan Gunner, Director of Research at PEI Group, said, "The industry has outgrown its own categories," adding that firms that were buyout houses a decade ago now raise more for credit than for equity. PEI's full report and asset-class breakdowns are available to registered users and subscribers.
Blackstone ranks first at $356.7 billion, followed by KKR at $302.2 billion, Goldman Sachs Alternatives at $215.3 billion, EQT at $204.3 billion and Ares Management at $191.9 billion. Brookfield Asset Management ($184.5 billion), BlackRock ($183.0 billion), TPG ($149.4 billion), The Carlyle Group ($132.5 billion) and Blue Owl Capital ($116.1 billion) complete the top 10. Those ten firms together raised $2.04 trillion, or 35.5 percent of the total. A manager needed $18.97 billion to make the list. PEI notes that figures reflect capital raised rather than assets under management, and that funds investing across strategies are allocated to one ranking rather than counted twice.
PEI's analysis indicates the largest managers are no longer single-asset-class specialists. Sixteen of the top 100 firms raised capital across all five strategies and seven of the top 10 are active in all five, while 25 firms reached the list through activity in a single asset class. Ares Management recorded the largest shift in a single year, raising more private credit than any other firm, moving from 10th to fourth in real estate and from 16th to 10th in secondaries.
The report also highlights consolidation as a driver of convergence. KKR acquired sports investor Arctos Partners, EQT acquired secondaries firm Coller Capital for up to $3.7 billion, Goldman Sachs bought Industry Ventures, General Atlantic acquired infrastructure manager Actis, and BNP Paribas completed its purchase of AXA Investment Managers. Dan Gunner, Director of Research at PEI Group, said, "The industry has outgrown its own categories," adding that firms that were buyout houses a decade ago now raise more for credit than for equity. PEI's full report and asset-class breakdowns are available to registered users and subscribers.
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