David Rubenstein spreads the historical wealth with new ‘Iconic America’ PBS series

He’s a billionaire businessman who’s been called a “patriotic philanthropist,” and now David Rubenstein is adding a new title to his ever-expanding portfolio: history-teaching TV host. 

The Carlyle Group co-founder is stepping in front of the camera as the face of “Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with David Rubenstein,” a PBS series premiering Wednesdays at 10 p.m. starting April 26. The eight-episode program is designed to explore American symbols and landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, the Hollywood sign, Boston’s Fenway Park and the Gadsden flag, among others. 

“There are an infinite number of symbols, but we took eight of them from different parts of the country and tried to spend an hour educating people about the history of these symbols: the good or the bad in some cases, and educate people in an informative, we hope, entertaining way,” Rubenstein said. 

Filming for the show took the Baltimore-raised Rubenstein everywhere from France — to the home of the Statue of Liberty designer — to a remote part of the Last Frontier to learn about the history behind the American bald eagle’s selection as a national emblem. 

“It turns out there’s a river in Haines, Alaska, which is not the easiest place to get to, where during the wintertime there’s a river that’s quite warm still because of thermos-underground heating. And the fish can still swim there, and therefore the American bald eagle can go down and catch the fish, which is what they eat to survive on,” explained Rubenstein. 

A history junkie himself, Rubenstein has donated millions of dollars over the years to help preserve some of the nation’s most famed sites, including more than $10 million in 2012 to help repair the Washington Monument. In 2014, he gave $12 million to the National Park Foundation to restore Arlington House at the Arlington National Cemetery, and he has donated nearly $30 million to the National Park Foundation to help restore the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial. 

“The theory behind representative democracy is that it will work if you have an informed citizenry. And when our country was created, the premise was that we would have an informed citizenry to make intelligent votes,” Rubenstein said. 

“Right now, we don’t teach American history very much. And we don’t teach civics as much as we used to. And therefore our citizenry is not as informed about the country as I would wish it were, or as many people wish it were,” he said. 

Rubenstein called the PBS series a “small step” toward educating Americans about the country’s history. Viewers won’t suddenly “become an encyclopedia on American history,” he said, “but you might be interested enough to learn more.” 

While Rubenstein’s doled out plenty of dollars over the years, he said there’s at least one group who will never be on the receiving end of his cash: political candidates. 

“I don’t support any candidate any time anywhere. I don’t give any money to politicians, no matter who they are. I’ve never given a penny to anybody running for president of the United States,” Rubenstein said, citing his role as chairman of the boards of the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress. 

“I think it’s a good thing for somebody in that position not to be political,” added Rubenstein, who worked in the Carter White House in his 20s and as chief counsel to the late Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.). 

Although President Biden vacationed in Rubenstein’s Nantucket, Mass., home last Thanksgiving, when ITK inquired if he would back a potential 2024 reelection bid by the commander in chief, the investor said, “I think President Biden has done a pretty good job. I think he’s a president that I think would be good if he ran and served another term, but I don’t personally support people or not support people.” 

Calling it a “fool’s errand” to predict whether former President Trump would secure the GOP nomination, Rubenstein said, “I think he’s not somebody that should be ignored because he obviously has got a lot of votes last time, and I suspect he’s still going to have a large sway in the Republican Party.” 

Asked if there was a chance he’d following in the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host’s footsteps and go from magnate to TV star to the White House, Rubenstein quipped, “I’m 73 years old and I’m too young. You need more experience. So I’m too young to be a presidential candidate, obviously, by the age of the people are now running.” 

“To be serious, the country would be better off keeping me out of politics.” 

While denying any future political plans, Rubenstein has been known to play host to lawmakers at monthly bipartisan, history-infused dinners at the Library of Congress. Despite the partisan mudslinging that plays out in Washington, Rubenstein says he hasn’t had to deal with any political food fights while breaking bread across the aisle. 

“There’s no politics there. Members sit with people from the opposite party and the opposite house,” he said. “They really enjoy learning about American history, and actually, they get to talk to people they don’t really know that well.” 

“Because it’s not considered really kosher these days to be spending a lot of time socializing with people from the opposite party, they don’t really spend as much time doing that,” he said. “So they don’t really know each other quite as well as I think they would like to know each other.” 

One thing that Rubenstein knows about is having moolah — and plenty of it. Forbes has estimated his net worth to be $3.3 billion. Asked if the title of the Notorious B.I.G.’s 1997 hit “Mo Money Mo Problems” rings true, Rubenstein told ITK, “Well, I’ve never found anybody that has no problems. And people that have a lot of money do have problems, just like people that don’t have a lot of money have problems. So I wouldn’t say that anybody I know who’s very wealthy would say they have no problems. I have problems. Everybody has problems.” 

But is having immense wealth both a blessing and a curse? 

“The most elusive thing in the world is personal happiness, and I have not observed that the people who are the happiest are the wealthiest,” replied Rubenstein. 

“Sometimes the people who have no money are much happier than people who have lots of money. So when you have lots of money, you have lots of people trying to get some of that money from you, and you have lots of challenges, and it’s not easy,” Rubenstein, the son of a postal worker and a stay-at-home mom, said. “Nobody is crying for the wealthy people, but on the other hand, it’s not a life that is unvarnished with no problems.” 

As a lover of the past, Rubenstein said he hoped anything written about him in the history books would describe someone who “did something to give back to the country that he was so fortunate to live in.” 

“I hope I will be an inspiration to some people who recognize you can come from very modest means and give back to your country,” he added. 

“The only thing you need to really do is try to work hard, apply yourself and not be upset if things don’t work out all the time. I’ve had a lot of setbacks in my career in my life, but I soldier on.” 

—Updated Thursday at 9:53 a.m.