A Magna Carta Buyout

In 1215, barons of the realm gathered in meadow over a document that would shape English law. On Tuesday, a baron of the financial realm, who has helped reshape the American economy, bought a copy.

David Rubenstein, a founder of the private equity giant Carlyle Group, purchased the 1297 revision of the Magna Carta - "the birth certificate of freedom," according to Sotheby's, which auctioned it -- for $21.3 million (or $19 million before fees and commissions).

The 16-inch high manuscript, written in in Latin on vellum, was issued by King Edward I. The 1297 Magna Carta laid the foundation for English common law and influenced the United States Constitution. It is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy. Only two of 17 known copies can be found outside Britain; the other is in Australia.

Because of all that, the document was expected to go for $30 million or more.

Edward Hadas and Una Galani in Breakingviews.com note that democracy can't compete in the marketplace with wizardry: A hand-written book of stories by J.K. Rowling, the British author of Harry Potter, was expected to sell at auction for $100,000, but Amazon.com bought it for $4 million.

"The auction results may reflect modern reading preferences," they write. "Most people these days feel more comfortable chatting about Hogwarts and Dumbledore than about the prerogatives of King John. Sotheby's, which tries to put a value on tastes, will have to change with the times."

The Magna Carta manuscript was put for sale by the Perot Foundation, who bought it in 1983 for $1.5 million from the family of the Earl of Cardigan (yes, the source of the name of the sweater), where it had been for centuries.

The manuscript will continue to reside on view in the National Archives in Washington, which, Rubenstein noted, is only 300 feet from his Carlyle offices.

Jeffrey Cane