Can celebrities make it in private equity?

But Blair is not the only celebrity to turn to the private equity model, and others have made a more successful foray into the world of investment.

Rock superstar Bono is perhaps the best known example of a celebrity-turned-general partner. He is managing director and co-founder of Elevation Partners, an investor committed to the entertainment, technology and media sectors.

Elevation has been an active investor, backing successful video games developer BioWare and tablet PC and smartphone specialist Palm in the past. It also holds a stake in Facebook, which, despite suffering share price falls since it listed earlier this year, is still one of the most successful PE investment stories of all time.

From Cherie Blair to MC Hammer, unquote" looks at the various attempts by celebrities to get into PE

Bono isn't the only musician to turn his hand to investing. Rapper MC Hammer (pictured) has launched a number of venture capital initiatives over the past decade and just last year he took part in the NewMe accelerator programme, which aimed to help start-ups set up for 16 weeks in Silicon Valley where they could receive advice from experienced entrepreneurs. Previously, MC Hammer has launched an investment fund that adopted the venture capital model to help launch the careers of new music talents, providing them with the funding needed to promote their act.

Several politicians have chosen to "retire" into private equity – perhaps working on investments behind closed doors makes a nice change from being in the public glare of the media. Former US vice-president Dan Quayle joined Cerberus Capital Management in 1999 and is chairman of its global investments division. Additionally, former UK prime minister John Major has famously worked for Carlyle Group, joining its European Advisory Board in 1998 and becoming chairman of Carlyle Europe in 2001, though he stood down in 2004.

One last musician finishes our tour of famous private equity names. As the Icelandic economy suffered in the wake of the financial crisis, two Icelandic businesswomen, Halla Tomasdottir and Kristin Petursdottir, launched Augur capital and, with the help of singer Björk, were able to launch the BJÖRK fund, aimed at backing ventures that increase diversity and creative thinking in the Icelandic economy.

While Blair's fund hasn't enjoyed the success she might have hoped for, some celebrities are certainly making headway in the world of fund management.

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