Stephen A. Schwarzman

Stephen Schwarzman
Stephen Schwarzman
Born	Stephen Allen Schwarzman; February 14, 1947 (age 79); Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, businessman
Years active	1970s–present
Known for	Co-founder, chairman and CEO of Blackstone Group; chairman of Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum
Notable work	What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence (2019)

Stephen Allen Schwarzman (born February 14, 1947) is an American entrepreneur and the chairman and chief executive officer of the Blackstone Group, a worldwide private equity firm he co-established in 1985 alongside Peter G. Peterson. He held the position of chairman for President Donald Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.

Forbes estimated Schwarzman’s net worth at approximately US$43 billion as of May 2025.

Early life and education

Raised in a Jewish household in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Schwarzman is the son of Arline and Joseph Schwarzman, who operated a dry-goods business. He completed his studies at the Wharton Business School.

At age 14, he launched his inaugural enterprise, a lawn-mowing service that included his younger twin brothers as employees.

Schwarzman graduated from Abington Senior High School in 1965 before enrolling at Yale University, where he joined the senior society known as Skull and Bones and founded the Davenport Ballet Society.

Following his 1969 graduation, Schwarzman briefly served in the United States Army Reserve prior to obtaining an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1972.

Investment career

Schwarzman began his career in financial services at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, an investment bank that was subsequently integrated into Credit Suisse. After completing business school, he joined Lehman Brothers, advancing to managing director by age 31 and leading global mergers and acquisitions. In 1985, together with Peter Peterson, he established The Blackstone Group, which initially concentrated on mergers and acquisitions. Over time, Blackstone broadened its scope to include business acquisitions, real estate investments, direct lending, and various alternative asset classes, managing assets totaling $1.1 trillion as of September 30, 2024.

Upon Blackstone’s public offering in June 2007, Schwarzman revealed earnings near $398.3 million for fiscal year 2006. From the IPO, he realized $684 million by selling part of his holdings while maintaining shares valued at $9.1 billion. His annual compensation saw significant increases: $350 million in 2007, $702.4 million in 2008, $734.2 million in 2015, $425 million in 2016, and $786 million in 2017. In 2022, his remuneration reached $253 million, making him the top-paid CEO in the United States that year.

In June 2007, Schwarzman articulated his assertive market strategy: "I want war, not a series of skirmishes ... I always think about what will kill off the other bidder."

In September 2011, he became a member of the international advisory board for the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

As of 2025, Schwarzman holds membership in The Business Council.

Political and economic views

A committed Republican, Schwarzman supports lower taxation and decreased government expenditures while endorsing reproductive rights. He contributed $100,000 to George W. Bush's election campaigns. In 2010, he sparked controversy by likening the Obama administration's proposal to increase taxes on carried interest to Hitler's invasion of Poland—a comparison for which he later issued an apology.

In 2012, President Obama enlisted Schwarzman's assistance to facilitate a budget compromise with Republicans aimed at averting the fiscal cliff; this effort culminated in a tax plan that generated $1 trillion through tax hikes, closing loopholes, and eliminating certain deductions. Obama also backed Schwarzman Scholars, an educational program initiated by Schwarzman.

Schwarzman supported Mitt Romney’s presidential bid in 2012 and maintained a center-right political stance during the 2016 Republican primaries. He refrained from endorsing any candidate but favored a nominee capable of appealing to independent voters. Early in 2016, he expressed preference for Donald Trump over Ted Cruz for president, emphasizing the necessity of a unifying administration. Previously, he had donated to Marco Rubio’s campaign in 2014.

Toward the end of 2016, Schwarzman played a key role in forming a corporate advisory group for Trump focused on jobs and economic policy; this group included CEOs such as Jamie Dimon and Bob Iger. He chaired Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum until it was dissolved in August 2017 following multiple resignations by its members.

A longtime associate of Trump, Schwarzman served as chair of the Strategic and Policy Forum and acted as an external advisor during Trump’s tenure. Despite facing criticism for his involvement with the administration, he defended his participation as offering valuable counsel notwithstanding potential backlash.

In 2018, reports indicated that Schwarzman contributed $344,000 toward Trump's re-election campaign. After Trump’s election victory, he was appointed chairman of the White House Strategic and Policy Forum.

During the 2020 election cycle, Schwarzman donated $15 million to the Senate Leadership Fund super-PAC linked to Mitch McConnell and $3 million to Trump's America First Action PAC; overall contributions to Republican candidates totaled $33.5 million—some recipients opposed certification of presidential election results. Privately, he described the January 6 Capitol event as an "insurrection" but refrained from directly criticizing Trump.

By 2022, Schwarzman announced he would not back Trump's potential 2024 presidential run and urged the Republican Party to seek new leadership. However, in 2024 he reversed this position by endorsing Trump as a "vote for change."

In 2025, Schwarzman noted that U.S. tariff policies have uniquely positioned Europe to attract increased investment from parties aiming to diversify amid geopolitical instability.

Wealth

As reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Schwarzman's fortune was valued at $32 billion in October 2022, while Forbes assessed it at $39 billion as of April 2024. He was recognized among Bloomberg's 50 Most Influential individuals in both 2014 and 2016.

Philanthropy

Schwarzman has contributed extensively to causes related to education, the arts, and public organizations. In 2004, he gifted a football stadium to Abington Senior High School. Four years later, in 2008, he donated $100 million toward the expansion of the New York Public Library, which was subsequently renamed the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. His philanthropy also includes a $10 million donation to the National Library of Israel in 2018.

In 2013, Schwarzman established the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University with an initial endowment of $100 million, designed to cultivate future global leaders with connections to China. This initiative has faced criticism due to its affiliations with Chinese governmental bodies.

He made a $150 million contribution in 2015 to Yale University for constructing a new campus center and serves on the Berggruen Institute's 21st Century Council. Since 2016, Schwarzman has been a trustee of New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

In 2018, he committed $350 million to MIT for the creation of the Schwarzman College of Computing. The University of Oxford received £150 million from him in 2019 to establish the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, which is expected to be completed during the 2024–25 academic year.

Schwarzman joined The Giving Pledge in 2020, vowing to allocate the majority of his assets to charitable causes. That same year, he pledged $8 million to the USA Track & Field Foundation ahead of the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games. In December 2021, he and his wife Christine contributed $25 million to New York's Animal Medical Center, which was renamed in their honor.

Personal life

In 1971, Schwarzman married his first wife, Ellen Philips, who serves as a trustee for both Northwestern University and the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Together they had two children: film producer Teddy Schwarzman and writer/podcaster Zibby Owens. The marriage ended in divorce in 1990.

Schwarzman wed Christine Hearst, an intellectual property attorney from Long Island, New York, in 1995. She has one child from a previous marriage.

He lives in a duplex at 740 Park Avenue, previously owned by John D. Rockefeller Jr., which Schwarzman acquired from Saul Steinberg. He notably spent millions celebrating his sixtieth and seventieth birthdays.

A Wall Street Journal report from 2011 identified Schwarzman as one of the highest water users in drought-stricken Palm Beach, Florida, consuming over 7.4 million gallons between June 2010 and May 2011—significantly exceeding typical household usage.

In 2021, Schwarzman purchased the Miramar mansion located in Newport, Rhode Island, for $27 million. Following restoration and art installation, he and his wife intend for the estate to be accessible to the public after their passing.

Awards and recognition

Schwarzman was honored with the Golden Plate Award by the American Academy of Achievement in 1999.

In 2018, President Enrique Peña Nieto presented him with the Plaque degree of the Order of the Aztec Eagle, acknowledging his support for the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement.

His first book, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, released in 2019, draws on his experiences across business, philanthropy, and public service. The book achieved status as a New York Times Best Seller amid reports of substantial bulk purchases by retailers.

In 2024, King Charles III bestowed upon Schwarzman the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in recognition of his philanthropic efforts.

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