Private equity firms are armed with massive amounts of cash as they navigate the economic and health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The world’s top 300 biggest private equity firms have raised a total of $1.988 trillion in the last five years, according to Private Equity International’s 2020 PEI 300 report. Here we take a look at the ten largest of them. PE firms pool capital from accredited investors who have a relatively high risk tolerance. They invest the money in privately-held businesses, hot startups, leveraged buyouts, and other opportunities.