In the private equity world, Stephen Schwarzman -- who is the chief at the The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) -- is a legend. Because of the nature of his business, he really didn't have a high profile; that is, not until last year, when his firm went public.
And the PR was horrible: He took a huge slug of cash off the table. He even had a blow-out 60th b-day party. Oh, and he owns a variety of opulent homes, such as in St. Tropez and Jamaica.
But, as is usual, the real person is much more complicated. And, that's the take from a tremendous piece in The New Yorker. The author, James Stewart (who is also the author of the best-seller, The Den of Thieves), had a chance to interview Schwarzman as well as some of his colleagues. He has also done quite a bit of research.
Simply put, Schwarzman has built a powerhouse in alternative investments, with strong positions in private equity, real estate, and hedge funds.
What's more, he seems to learn from the past. For example, he didn't binge on mortgages and CDOs. And when other private equity firms were pulling off mega deals, Blackstone was fairly restrained.
Of course, Blackstone was savvy in taking its company public at the height of the market. He was even able to snag $3 billion from the sovereign wealth fund in China, which is in contrast to the recent dilutive deals at Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER).
However, this does not imply that James put together a puff piece. No doubt, he covers some of the mistakes and issues. But all in all, we get a broader perspective of Schwarzman and Blackstone.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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