Wall Street supremo buys $20m Magna Carta for nation

The only copy of the Magna Carta still in private ownership has been bought by the private equity billionaire David Rubenstein. He purchased the centuries-old document at auction at Sotheby's New York and says he intends to keep it in the US on display in the National Archives. "I am privileged to be the new owner," he said, "but I am only the temporary custodian. This is a gift to the American people. It is important to me that it stays in the United States."
 
Rubenstein paid $21.3m (£10.6m) for his copy of the Latin text, slightly more than the expected $20m price tag. The medieval manuscript had been put up for sale by another American billionaire, Ross Perot, who had purchased it in 1984 after five centuries in the care of the Earls of Cardigan. It is a 1297 copy of the document which was sealed by King John of England in 1215 and enshrined civil rights in English law. Only four copies of the original 1215 signing exist, and all are in England.

David Redden, vice-chairman of Sotheby's, described the Magna Carta as "the most important document in the world". He added: "[It] is the first rung on the ladder to freedom. This document symbolises mankind's eternal quest for freedom. It is a talisman of liberty."
 
Rubenstein, a former advisor to President Jimmy Carter, is a co-founder of the private equity firm, the Carlyle Group. Carlyle was recently implicated when it was claimed the British Government did not make the most of the sale of one-third of defence research group Qinetic to the group. The document's previous owner, the Texan Perot, was best known for fighting the 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns as an independent candidate, losing to Bill Clinton both times. ·