Stephen Schwarzman - The Blackstone Group

Stephen Schwarzman is the Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder of The Blackstone Group. Stephen Schwarzman Co-founded the Blackstone Group in 1985 with Peter Peterson and a shared balance on $400,000. In 2007, the Blackstone Group took its private equity business public in one of the largest IPOs in history. As part of the IPO, the Blackstone Group opened its private performance record to the public. As of December 2007, Stephen Schwarzman company’s total assets were worth $102.4 billion.

Based in New York City, the Blackstone Group is a leading global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Blackstone Group organizes its business into four segments: corporate private equity, real estate, marketable alternative asset management, and financial advisory. According to the firm’s profile, the Blackstone Group’s alternative asset management businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real estate opportunity funds, funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior debt funds, proprietary hedge funds and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group’s financial advisory services include corporate and mergers and acquisitions advisory; restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services. The Blackstone Group has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Before founding the Blackstone Group, Schwarzman was managing director of the Lehman Brothers. Stephen Schwarzman became the managing director of the Lehman Brother at age 31. From 1977 to 1984, Stephen Schwarzman managed the firm’s mergers and acquisitions. He was also Chairman of the firms Mergers and Acquisitions Committee.

Stephen Schwarzman earned his BA from Yale University and MBA from Harvard Business School.

According to his profile at the Blackstone Group website, Stephen Schwarzman is Chairman of the Board of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and The Business Council. Stephen Schwarzman is also on the board of The New York Public Library, The New York City Ballet, The Asia Society and The Film Society of Lincoln Center. Stephen Schwarzman also serves on The JP Morgan Chase National Advisory Board, The New York City Partnership Board of Directors and The Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing. Stephen Schwarzman is a Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and a Trustee of The Frick Collection in New York City. Stephen Schwarzman has been honored by the Phoenix House for his contributions to the prevention of substance abuse.

In 2008, Stephen Schwarzman donated $100 million to finance the expansion of the New York Public Library.