Stephen A. Schwarzman

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Stephen A. Schwarzman

Stephen A. Schwarzman (14 February 1947 - ) is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Blackstone Group.

Schwarzman obtained a bachelor's degree from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1969, he was elected to the Skull & Bones society. He began his career in financial services at the investment bank Lehman Brothers, where he reached the rank of managing director at age 31. He eventually became the head of Lehman Brother's global mergers and acquisitions team.

In 1985, Schwarzman and his partner Peter Peterson started the Blackstone Group, which originally focused on private equity and leveraged buyout scenarios. Schwarzman and Peterson were immensely successful; today, the Blackstone Group operates in many lines of financial services, including private equity, distressed debt, real estate, corporate advisory and restructurings, corporate debt, funds of funds and mutual funds. His immense success in financial services has resulted in extraordinary wealth; with an estimated current net worth of around $3.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 73-richest person in America. Several professionals who worked under Schwarzman have gone on to successfully launch their own investment firms; one such example is Glenn Hutchings, co-founder and managing director of the Menlo Park-based private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.

He and his first wife, Ellen Philips Schwarzman, divorced. He is currently married to Christine Hearst. A few years ago, he reportedly paid $38 million for a Manhattan apartment, which he decorated with very expensive artwork. He reportedly also owns expensive properties in Jamaica, Florida and other areas outside of Manhattan.