Texas-based private equity giant TPG has muscled rivals Goldman Sachs‘ Principal Investment Area and Carlyle out of the way to become the world’s biggest private equity firm, according to PEI Media’s updated annual rankings. The data is based on the amount of capital each firm raised over the last five years.

TPG, run by David Bonderman (right) raised $52.35 billion during the five years, ahead of Goldman’s $48.99 billion and DC-based Carlyle’s $47.73 billion, the report says.

PEI, which produces detailed PE-related publications and organizes industry events, notes that charting the private world of private equity isn’t easy or an exact science. It says the report is the only apples-to-apples comparison of dedicated, direct-investment private equity.

PEI said the numbers take into account changes firms made to their funds after raising them. It includes TPG’s recent move to give investors the option to reduce the size of its $20 billion buyout fund VI by $2 billion and its Asia fund by $420 million, PEI said.

Last year’s rankings had Carlyle at the top, followed by Goldman Sachs.

The dates PEI spans covers Jan 1, 2004 to April 15, 2009.

Separate data from private equity intelligence firm PitchBook showed that for the first quarter of 2009, Carlyle was the most active private equity investor with 19 deals, followed by Warburg Pincus and The Riverside Company which tied second with 17 deals. 

Goldman Sachs was fourth with 15 and TPG tied fifth with Audax Group at 14 deals.  The amount PE firms invested during the first quarter fell to $12.8 billion, a 76 percent drop when compared to the $52.7 billion invested during the first quarter of 2008, PitchBook said.