Key Takeaways
- • PEI Group's inaugural Private Markets 100 ranking finds the 100 largest private markets managers raised $5.74 trillion between 2021 and 2025, according to a press release distributed via PRNewswire.
- • Blackstone ranks first 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 fundraising across the 100 managers.
- • Sixteen of the top 100 firms raised capital across all five strategies, and seven of the top 10 are active in all five, indicating the largest managers are no longer single-asset-class specialists.
- • A manager needed $18.97 billion in capital raised over five years to make the list, and figures represent amounts raised rather than assets under management.
Summary
PEI Group has published the inaugural Private Markets 100, a ranking that measures private equity, real estate, infrastructure, private credit and secondaries fundraising 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 ($5.01 trillion in 2025, per IMF World Economic Outlook data).
Blackstone leads the ranking at $356.7 billion, ahead of KKR at $302.2 billion and Goldman Sachs Alternatives at $215.3 billion. EQT ($204.3 billion), Ares Management ($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.
PEI highlights a structural shift toward multi-strategy platforms. Sixteen firms raised money across all five strategies, while 25 firms made the list by operating in a single asset class. Ares Management recorded the largest single-year shift, raising more private credit than any other firm and moving from 10th to fourth in real estate and from 16th to 10th in secondaries; combined, PEI ranks Ares as the fifth-largest private markets fundraiser, ahead of Brookfield and BlackRock. PEI notes that much of this convergence has been achieved through acquisition, citing KKR's purchase of Arctos Partners, EQT's acquisition of Coller Capital for up to $3.7 billion, Goldman Sachs' purchase of Industry Ventures, General Atlantic's acquisition of Actis, and BNP Paribas' completed 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. The ranking consolidates PEI's six asset-class rankings, validated against public filings, regulatory disclosures and fund documentation, and covers capital raised for funds over the five years to 31 December 2025. The full report is available to registered users, with additional analysis available to subscribers of PEI publications.
Blackstone leads the ranking at $356.7 billion, ahead of KKR at $302.2 billion and Goldman Sachs Alternatives at $215.3 billion. EQT ($204.3 billion), Ares Management ($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.
PEI highlights a structural shift toward multi-strategy platforms. Sixteen firms raised money across all five strategies, while 25 firms made the list by operating in a single asset class. Ares Management recorded the largest single-year shift, raising more private credit than any other firm and moving from 10th to fourth in real estate and from 16th to 10th in secondaries; combined, PEI ranks Ares as the fifth-largest private markets fundraiser, ahead of Brookfield and BlackRock. PEI notes that much of this convergence has been achieved through acquisition, citing KKR's purchase of Arctos Partners, EQT's acquisition of Coller Capital for up to $3.7 billion, Goldman Sachs' purchase of Industry Ventures, General Atlantic's acquisition of Actis, and BNP Paribas' completed 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. The ranking consolidates PEI's six asset-class rankings, validated against public filings, regulatory disclosures and fund documentation, and covers capital raised for funds over the five years to 31 December 2025. The full report is available to registered users, with additional analysis available to subscribers of PEI publications.
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