HotelsMag September 2023 | Page 26

Q2 REVIEW

Blackstone surpasses $ 1 trillion in assets under management . Now what ?

THE ALTERNATIVE ASSET MANAGER GEARS UP , HAS $ 200 BILLION IN DRY POWDER .

By DAVID EISEN

Blackstone , the mammoth alternative asset manager , has come a long way from its rather humbler beginnings . The firm was founded in 1985 by Stephen Schwarzman and Peter Peterson with $ 400,000 in seed capital . It ’ s come a long way , baby . When the firm had its IPO in 2007 , it had around $ 70 billion in assets under management . On the group ’ s second-quarter 2023 earnings call , Schwarzman could hardly suppress his giddiness over the fact that it had now surpassed $ 1 trillion in AUM , a promise it made in a 2018 investor day and three years ahead of schedule .

“ I feel a huge source of pride ,” he said . When Blackstone debuted , it took an

26 hotelsmag . com September 2023