Soropa Blog

If you have never heard the name Stephen A. Schwarzman, you’ll find this fascinating. A year ago Stephen Schwarzman ranked fifty-three on the list of America’s richest individuals, all the same it’s not only money that makes this tale absorbing but also his astounding accomplishments in the business and finance world and his patronage of the arts. The Blackstone Group financial giant is inspiring and further proof that wealth may be gained through working hard and being unequivocally dedicated to your career.

In 1985 Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter Peterson founded their initial firm offering up sound financial advice. As business matured, it has set the pace in M & A; but be aware that Stephen hasn’t always owned his own business. Stephen spent his childhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia. After high school he chose an undergraduate program of study at Yale University. Harvard Business School near Boston, Massachusetts was the next step in his education, here he graduated in 1972. Eventually he would become part of the corporate team at Lehman Brothers investment bank. By the age of thirty one, he was already a director. Stephen Schwarzman donates to a diversity of liberal arts as well as consulting as an ancillary professor at the legendary Yale School of Management. Furthermore, he is the latest Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, he told the American public in the spring of 2008 that he was presenting $100 million to the New York Public Library to help them build new premises. They also called one of their recently built buildings the “Stephen A. Schwarzman Building” in his honor.

It is no surprise that Stephen Schwarzman is recognized as one of America’s elite — As one of Times Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People on the planet, Stephen is now in the focus of media attention and influencing economic growth globally. His meteoric rise to power in the business and financial sectors is nothing short of stunning, and no doubt his generosity has set business magnates a new benchmark to mirror. As far as the people of the United States can see, Stephen can do no wrong. To sum up, we see an individual who has taken the best advantage of every business opportunity offered to him and in return he has at the same time used his riches and influence to try to bolster his community.