WASHINGTON: Dawn Lim Blackstone Inc chief executive officer (CEO) Steve Schwarzman collected just over US$1bil in pay and dividends in 2024, putting the spotlight on the billionaire’s wealth just as Washington takes aim at how private equity profits are taxed.
Most of Schwarzman’s annual windfall came in dividends, not fund profits.
He is the single largest holder of Blackstone stock with a stake of almost 20% in the world’s largest alternative asset manager worth roughly US$37bil, according to an annual filing last Friday.
Schwarzman took home about 11.5% more than what he reaped in 2023 because of his US$916mil in dividends.
It’s a reminder of how the fortunes of Schwarzman, 78, are tied to Blackstone and its stock, even though heir-apparent and president Jon Gray is in charge of the day-to-day running of the firm.
Schwarzman earned US$83.7mil in incentive fees and the cut of profits from funds known as carried interest.
While the amount fell from the prior year, it continues to dwarf his US$350,000 salary.
Those profits have vaulted Schwarzman to one of Wall Street’s highest paid CEOs, with a net worth of some US$51.3bil, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
President Donald Trump has vowed to bring an end to the special status of carried interest, which is generally taxed at a lower rate than wages.
It’s the latest salvo in a long-running fight over what critics call the billionaires’ loophole.
A politically connected Trump backer, whose name gilds everything from the New York Public Library’s flagship complex to the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, Schwarzman has staunchly defended carried interest through the years.
Today, Blackstone oversees US$1.1 trillion in assets. Earnings tied to fees and selling deals rose in 2024.
Blackstone’s heir apparent Gray earned US$44mil in carried interest and incentive fees.
Meanwhile, he scored US$169.7mil in dividends.
In total, he collected US$247mil in various forms of compensation and dividends.
“Blackstone has a performance-driven compensation model that is built on long-term alignment with our investors,” a firm spokesman said.
Gray, 55, has consolidated power at Blackstone and rallied the firm around thematic bets like data centres and technology.
He’s turned the firm once known as a manager of pension funds and big institutions into a bigger retail brand.
He’s making a big push to use insurance dollars to finance companies, overturning the idea that lending is the sole province of banks. — Bloomberg
