We’ve known since the end of the first quarter that 2022 was going to be an infrastructure fundraising year for the ages. The only question was how much more capital would be raised by private equity funds in 2022, compared with the record-setting $107.8 billion raised in 2021. The answer turned out to be more than 36 percent more (i.e., $39.1 billion more).

During the fourth quarter 2022, seven funds raised an aggregate of $12.1 billion. This brought the total number of funds reaching a final close in 2022 to 44, with a total raised of $146.8 billion. The previous high-water mark had been 2021’s $107.8 billion.

The first quarter 2022 set the tone for the year, with $70 billion raised by 16 funds. This total included the closing of the $17 billion KKR Global Infrastructure Investors IV fund, which will focus on energy, renewables, transmission and utilities in the United States; and the $14 billion Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund IV, which has a global diversified ma