This morning's Wall Street Journal [subscription] scored a coup -- an exclusive interview with Blackstone Group's (prospective trading symbol BX) CEO Steve Schwarzman.
The interview's theme -- that Schwarzman is the private equity industry's answer to Napoleon -- did not delve into the question of whether it makes sense to invest in what Schwarzman is selling to the public. But it did include some fascinating personal details:
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At 5' 6" he is a "little man" who wants to "inflict pain" on and "kill off" his rivals;
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He noticed that one of the servants at his 11,000 square foot Palm Beach mansion wore squeaky rubber soled shoes;
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He ate $400 worth of stone crabs there during his 15 minute lunches; and
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He neglected to invite his rival -- KKR partner, Henry Kravis-- to his lavish 60th birthday celebration -- to which a huge portrait of Schwarzman, which usually hangs in his living room, was shipped -- because he had never been invited to Kravis's home.
Should you invest with him? Yes. However, the securities he's selling in the Blackstone IPO will not enable you to do so. I have been plowing through its prospectus and have come to the conclusion that you should avoid these securities. Here's why:
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