Stephen Allen Schwarzman is an American businessman who can also be recognized as an American billionaire. Schwarzman is the CEO and chairman of the Blackstone Group which he founded with the US secretary of commerce and ex-CEO of Lehman Brothers, in the year 1985.
For a short period, Schwarzman served as a chairman of President Donald Trump’s forum. Apart from being the CEO of the world’s leading investment firm, Schwarzman is also an active Philanthropist who has made significant contributions to the field of arts, culture, and education.
Recently, he gave a glimpse into the experiences he garnered in philanthropy, business, and public service through his book, “What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence.”
Who Is Stephen Schwarzman?
Schwarzman is the CEO of Blackstone group and therefore he is an affluent businessman as of 2023. He was raised in a Jewish family in Pennsylvania and graduated from the Wharton School.
He entered into the business world by owning a lawn-mowing operation by employing his brother to mow while he was in charge of finding clients. He was only 14 at the time.
Later he went to study at Abington Senior High School. After that, he became a member of a society named Skull and Bones, during his time at Yale University. Ultimately, he established the Davenport Ballet Society.
Before going to Harvard Business School, Schwarzman further served briefly in the US Army Reserve.
Stephen Schwarzman – Chairman Of Blackstone
Schwarzman was both CEO and Chairman of Blackstone, which is today recognized as one of the most lucrative investment firms, having assets worth $975 billion under management.
Ever since it was launched in 1985, Schwarzman was at the foremost, dealing with almost everything that is concerned with the firm. They have successfully established investing businesses across asset classes including hedge fund solutions, private equity, real estate, and credit.
Lately, Blackstone has further ensured its uniqueness by making their management expertise available to insurance companies as well as launching brand new businesses related to life sciences investing and infrastructure.
Stephen Allen Schwarzman As A Philanthropist
Mr. Schwarzman is well known as a philanthropist who has been active in several areas including arts, education, and culture. In mid-2019, he happily donated 150 million euros to Oxford University in order to refine the study strategy for the 21st century.
Since the renaissance, nobody has made such a whopping donation, especially for the center of Humanities, which brought all the Humanities faculties under one roof of Oxford, which was a history-making moment for Oxford, apparently, new exhibition venues and performing art venues were also arranged with the astounding donation made by Schwarzman.
In late 2018, he gifted $350 million to the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, to address the challenges created by the increased role of Artificial Intelligence in day-to-day transactions.
He had to prove before the world that technologies are generally employed for the common good.
In 2015, he had made a donation of $150 million to Yale University to launch a new Schwarzman Center there. He further offered a founding gift of $40 million to the City Scholarship Fund. The major attraction he found in it was the institution provided tuition assistance to underprivileged kids in Catholic schools.
In 2013, Schwarzman donated $575 million to establish a scholarship program termed Schwarzman scholars, to educate kids about China, which is still the foremost philanthropic effort seen in the entire history of China.
In 2020, Schwarzman went on to sign The Giving Pledge, committing to give away most of his wealth to philanthropic causes. He took the initiative which even urged many other wealthy individuals to follow him.
Be it business or philanthropy, Schwarzman is known for tackling big to massive problems and finding transformative solutions to them.
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Stephen Schwarzman’s Net Worth
As of 2023, Schwarzman’s net worth is estimated to be $33 billion. According to Bloomerang, Schwarzman was among the list of the 50 most influential people in 2014. He further went on to own the same tag in 2016 as well.
Stephen Schwarzman’s Personal Life
Schwarzman married the trustee of Northwestern University, Ellen Phillips in 1971. Although divorced in 1990, by that time, they had two children, Teddy Schwarzman, who is an established film producer, and Zibby Ovens, a podcaster.
In 1995, he married Christine Hearst, an intellectual property lawyer, who already had a child from her previous marriage. Apparently, the 76-year-old is leading a perfect life with his wife, Hearts today.
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