Stephen Schwarzman: Chairman and CEO of Blackstone
Business Owner · Financial Services
Stephen Schwarzman started with a lawn-mowing business at 14 and, in 1985, co-founded Blackstone with Peter Peterson, growing it into one of the world's largest private equity firms.
About Stephen Schwarzman: Chairman and CEO of Blackstone
Stephen Allen Schwarzman (born February 14, 1947) is an American businessman, the chairman and CEO of the private equity firm Blackstone Inc., which he established in 1985 with Peter G. Peterson. He chaired President Donald Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum, and his philanthropy has focused on education, artificial intelligence and culture. According to Forbes he has a net worth of approximately US$50 billion as of early 2026. Schwarzman was raised in a Jewish family in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, the son of Arline and Joseph Schwarzman; his father owned Schwarzman's, a former dry-goods store in Philadelphia. His first business was a lawn-mowing operation at 14, employing his younger twin brothers, Mark and Warren, to mow while he brought in clients. He graduated from Abington Senior High School in 1965 and from Yale, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and founded the Davenport Ballet Society, in 1969. After briefly serving in the US Army Reserve he graduated from Harvard Business School in 1972. His first job in financial services was at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and after business school he joined Lehman Brothers, becoming a managing director at 31 and head of global mergers and acquisitions. In 1985 Schwarzman and his boss Peter Peterson started The Blackstone Group, which initially focused on mergers and acquisitions and then branched into business acquisition, real estate, direct lending and alternative assets. Sources: English Wikipedia (Stephen A. Schwarzman, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Chairman, CEO and co-founder, Blackstone
Company Details
Blackstone Inc.
Private Equity, Asset Management