# Stephen A. Schwarzman

> Stephen A. Schwarzman is Blackstone’s co-founder, chairman and CEO. Raised in Philadelphia and educated at Yale and Harvard Business School, he built a career in mergers and acquisitions before founding Blackstone with Peter G. Peterson in 1985. His public work also includes a business memoir, Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua, and major gifts to MIT, Oxford, Yale and the New York Public Library.

- **Role:** Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO at Blackstone
- **Organizations:** Blackstone, Schwarzman Scholars, New York Public Library, The Frick Collection
- **From:** Philadelphia, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Culture and Behavior, Yale University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Blackstone in 1985; remained chairman and CEO as the firm reported over $1.3 trillion AUM at June 30, 2026., Founded Schwarzman Scholars, a one-year graduate programme at Tsinghua University., Supported the creation of MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing with a $350 million foundational gift.

## Career timeline

- **1969** — Graduated from Yale and began work at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
- **1972** — Earned his MBA and joined Lehman Brothers.
- **1978** — Became a managing director at Lehman Brothers; worked on the Tropicana sale to Beatrice Foods.
- **1984** — Oversaw Lehman Brothers’ sale to American Express.
- **1985** — Co-founded Blackstone with Peter G. Peterson and $400,000 in seed capital.
- **1989** — Blackstone’s Edgcomb investment failed, prompting changes to investment review.
- **2007** — Led Blackstone through its initial public offering.
- **2008** — Announced a $100 million gift to the New York Public Library.
- **2013** — Announced Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University.
- **2015** — Gave $150 million to Yale for the Schwarzman Center.
- **2016** — Schwarzman Scholars welcomed its inaugural class.
- **2018** — Announced a $350 million foundational gift for MIT’s College of Computing.
- **2019** — Published What It Takes and announced £150 million for Oxford’s humanities centre.
- **2020** — Joined the Giving Pledge.
- **2025** — Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre opened for the academic community.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Blackstone in 1985; remained chairman and CEO as the firm reported over $1.3 trillion AUM at June 30, 2026.
- Founded Schwarzman Scholars, a one-year graduate programme at Tsinghua University.
- Supported the creation of MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing with a $350 million foundational gift.
- Supported Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities; total gifts stood at £185 million in its 2025 opening announcement.
- Authored What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence (2019).

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Published an autobiographical chapter revisiting the 2007 Equity Office Properties acquisition on October 19.
- **2026-10** — Published an autobiographical chapter on Edgcomb and Blackstone’s investment-review process on October 18.
- **2026-09** — Began publishing a personal-history series, opening with Japanese relationships that helped Blackstone.
- **2026-07** — Published an article discussing Blackstone’s investment exposure to AI infrastructure and technology companies.

## Links

- Website: https://www.blackstone.com/people/stephen-a-schwarzman/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenschwarzman

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/stephen-schwarzman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21