The Global 400
Ranking the largest private equity investors in the world
2026 Edition
Executive Summary
In this report, we rank and analyze the largest and most active private equity (PE) investors across the world.
We take a novel bottom-up approach to our ranking, which is based on total managed enterprise value (EV) rather than funds raised. This methodology allows us to go deeper into trends by region and sector.
Further, this approach helps us capture large and active investors who do not follow traditional fundraising cycles/structures and are often overlooked.
Key takeaways from our analysis:
Blackstone has emerged as #1 PE investor globally, managing a total estimated EV of $366bn, followed by KKR (managing an EV of $343bn) and EQT ($195bn). Other investors in the top 10 include Apollo ($178bn), Bain Capital ($152bn), Brookfield AM ($150bn), Thoma Bravo ($140bn), CVC ($135bn), GIC ($135bn), and Carlyle ($125bn).
Collectively, the largest 400 investors in the world manage an estimated EV of $8.1 trillion across 13,070 assets. Despite its significant size, the aggregated Global 400 EV is just 5% of the ~$149 trillion global public equity market.
The Global 400 landscape is heavily concentrated at the upper end, with the top 25 investors managing 44% of the Global 400 EV. TMT is the largest PE sector in the world (24% of Global 400 EV), followed closely by Services (19%) and then Consumer (11%).
Leading the sector rankings are Thoma Bravo (TMT), Blackstone (Services & Infrastructure), EQT (Science & Health), KKR (Energy & Materials), Apollo (Industrials), Stone Point Capital (Financial Services), and Roark Capital (Consumer). TMT (42%) and Consumer (25%) stand out as the sectors with the most number of sector specialists.
The US overwhelmingly dominates transatlantic PE markets, accounting for 50% of Global 400 PE-backed companies, well ahead of France (13%) and the UK (11%). Outside transatlantic markets, Australia and India host the largest share of Global 400 portfolio companies, followed by Saudi Arabia and China. By city, London, Paris, and New York are the largest hubs.
If you have any questions about the data or the report, reach out to insights@gain.ai.
Chapter 01: Global 400 Ranking
Blackstone has emerged as the largest private equity investor globally, managing a total estimated EV of $366bn, followed by KKR (managing an EV of $343bn) and EQT ($195bn).
Other investors in the top 10 include Apollo ($178bn), Bain Capital ($152bn), Brookfield Asset Management ($150bn), Thoma Bravo ($140bn), CVC ($135bn), GIC ($135bn), and Carlyle ($125bn).
Collectively, the largest 400 investors manage an estimated EV of $8.1 trillion globally across 13,070 assets. On average, their portfolio companies generate $89m in EBITDA, while they manage 41 companies each.
Over the last 6 years, Global 400 investors have invested in over twice as many new portfolio companies as they have exited. Specifically, there have been 12,293 new investments and 5,839 exits among these sponsors.
The table below lists all the top 400 investors in the world. Use the search bar or the arrows at the top to navigate through the ranking.
North American HQ'd investors account for 32 of the top 50 spots in the Global 400 ranking, led by Blackstone (#1, $366bn) and KKR (#2, $343bn). Europe has 11 investors in the top 50, with EQT (#3, $195bn) and CVC (#8, $135bn) being the highest ranked. The Middle East has 4 investors, all sovereign wealth funds, led by PIF (#14, $95bn). Australia/NZ and Asia contribute two and one investors respectively, with GIC (#9, $135bn) being the sole Asian representative in the top 50.
Investor Concentration
The Global 400 landscape is heavily concentrated at the upper end. The top 25 investors manage 44% of total EV ($3,309bn), with concentration rising to 74% ($5,602bn) for the top 75. Private equity firms, like other large asset managers, benefit from inherent scale advantages, and recent fundraising trends have also favored larger investors. While concentration is increasing in PE, the market still remains less concentrated compared to public asset management or the advisory landscape.
Dominant Investor HQs
By country, US and UK HQ'd investors dominate the Global 400 ranking. US-headquartered investors manage $4,950bn in EV (61%) versus $881bn (11%) for UK peers. French and Canadian investors come next at $410bn and $380bn, respectively, representing roughly 5% of total EV each. Outside of the leading Western countries, the UAE ($228bn), Singapore ($187bn), and Australia ($162bn) stand out as the largest investor hubs.
Chapter 02: Sector 50 Rankings
This table showcases the top 50 private equity firms ranked by sectors. Use the buttons to navigate between the sector rankings.
Top Investors
Leading the sector rankings are Thoma Bravo (TMT), Blackstone (Services & Infrastructure), EQT (Science & Health), KKR (Energy & Materials), Apollo (Industrials), Stone Point Capital (Financial Services), and Roark Capital (Consumer). Vista Equity (97% TMT), Thoma Bravo (93% TMT), DigitalBridge (78% Infra), IFM Investors (68% Infra), Roark Capital (84% Consumer), 3i Group (79% Consumer), and Stone Point Capital (62% Financials) predominantly allocate to a single sector.
Sector Insights
TMT is the largest PE sector in the world (24% of Global 400 EV), followed closely by Services (19%) and then Consumer (11%). Combined, these three sectors account for over half of the overall Global 400 EV. At the subsector level, the largest ones are Software (15%), Professional Services (9%), Infrastructure (8%), Manufacturing (7%), Energy (7%), and Healthcare Services (6%).
The sector mix for PE entry activity has shifted materially since 2010. The share of TMT has grown by +12pp as investors have gravitated toward asset-light, fast-growing businesses, though recent stress in public software markets may put pressure on this trend. Consumer (-11pp) and Industrials (-8pp) have seen the sharpest declines, driven by slowing underlying growth rates and a challenging exit environment. Other sectors have collectively gained +7pp.
Chapter 03: Regional Insights
Region of Investment
North America accounts for 54% of Global 400 EV and 48% of the portfolio by count. Europe accounts for 38% and 43%, respectively. APAC and the Middle East remain comparatively small, with APAC accounting for 5% of both EV and portfolio count, and the Middle East for 2% of each.
The US overwhelmingly dominates transatlantic PE markets, accounting for ~46% of Global 400 PE-backed companies, well ahead of France (~12%) and the UK (~10%). Outside transatlantic markets, Australia and India host the largest share of Global 400 portfolio companies, followed by Saudi Arabia and China.
By city, London, Paris, and New York are the largest hubs for Global 400 portfolio companies, reflecting the concentration of PE-backed businesses in the major global financial centers. Within the US, activity is broadly spread across Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston, with no single city dominating outside New York. Stockholm, Amsterdam, Milan, and Madrid stand out as the leading European hubs beyond the UK and France, while Riyadh, Mumbai, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo highlight growing PE activity across the Middle East and APAC.
Chapter 04: Portfolio Benchmarking
In this section, we explore the investment portfolios of the top 30 PE investors in the world, analyzing entries, exits, growth rates, profitability, buy-and-build activity, holding periods, EBITDA range and the sector/regional makeup of their global investments.
Note: We exclude from this analysis investors who have fewer than 5 data points for a particular metric.
By Sector & Region
Among the top 30 investors, Vista Equity (97%), Thoma Bravo (93%), and Hg (86%) lead in TMT concentration. Investors with the strongest Services focus include EQT (28%), CVC (27%), and Macquarie (27%). In Consumer, Apollo (22%), CD&R (19%), and CVC (19%) show higher concentration, while CD&R also leads in Industrials at 30%. IFM Investors (68%) and BlackRock (47%) show the strongest Infrastructure allocations. In contrast, KKR, Carlyle, and Goldman Sachs AM showcase more balanced portfolios across sectors.
By region, North America dominates portfolio allocations among the top 30 investors, led by Thoma Bravo (92%), Apollo (82%), and Vista Equity (80%). In Europe, Hg (82%), CVC (72%), and Ardian (69%) are the most Europe-focused investors, while sovereign funds such as PIF, Mubadala, and ADIA show the highest exposure to the Middle East. Bain Capital (19%) and Warburg Pincus (17%) lead in Asia exposure. IFM Investors and Macquarie stand out for their exposure to Australia/NZ, whereas KKR, Carlyle, and Advent maintain more balanced transatlantic portfolios.
PIF (93) and KKR (66) stand out with the highest number of portfolio companies outside North America and Europe. TPG Capital (38), Warburg Pincus (37), and Macquarie (35) also have a higher international exposure. In contrast, CD&R, Hg, and H&F have minimal presence outside these regions, consistent with their focus on North America and Europe.
Methodology
The data for this report comes from Gain.
We take a novel approach to our ranking, which is based on total managed enterprise value (EV). At Gain, we track over 23,200 investor portfolios in detail.
To estimate the managed enterprise value (EV), we estimate the EV for each asset in an investor’s portfolio. We begin with the latest reported deal value, where publicly available. We scale the last reported deal value by a growth multiplier to estimate its current holding value. We also adjust EV for the investor's estimated ownership share in an asset.
If the last reported deal value is not available, we estimate the EV by multiplying EBITDA by the predicted exit multiple. The total EV is then aggregated asset-by-asset at the investor level.
Where there aren't reported deal figures or financials, we estimate them using the asset's revenue, subsector margins, and revenue/FTE calculations.
We only consider majority buyout and minority-owned PE assets for our rankings. We exclude any VC investments, publicly listed stakes, and fully government-owned entities. To predict exit multiples, we consider an asset’s sector, size, growth rate, margin profile, and cash generation.
Further, we include only active investors in the Global 400 ranking with i) 5 or more portfolio companies across the globe and ii) 4 or more entries since 2020
For the sector rankings, we include investors with i) 3 or more portfolio companies in that sector and ii) 3 or more entries in that sector since 2020
Unless otherwise stated, all metrics and calculations are based on an investor's global PE portfolio. We excluded investors with <5 data points for any aggregate metrics in the portfolio insights section.
Related Research
Discover our proprietary reports on investors, assets and PE deals.
