Every day should be a good day. People fool themselves that they'll be here forever.
— Stephen A. Schwarzman
As the world has become more predatory and aggressive, my impression is that the investment banking business has moved from being relationship-oriented to being increasingly transaction-oriented.
I think people have to read more and learn more about what's going on internationally.
Don't go into something you actually don't know much about, in the hopes that you're going to get really financially successful and rewarded... even though people think you're, like, terrific.
Ironically, when a bunch of very smart people are sitting around a table for hours trying to figure out whether they should do something, that tends to not necessarily lead to the best results.
I've learned that all investments have risk.
I like being in warm weather. I find that relaxes me. I like being near water. I like sitting on a beach and sort of hearing the water, watching waves break, looking at the shimmering. I find that really relaxing.
Washington, D.C., puts enormous burdens on people who, at the end of the day, are just humans.
We need sobriety, rationality, and civility in the discussions on the regulation of financial institutions so that the banks can return in a robust manner to their central role in funding the economy.
Today, whenever I'm under pressure to make a decision on a transaction but I don't know what the right one is, I try desperately to postpone it. I'll insist on more information - on doing extra laps around the intellectual parking lot - before committing. I take the same approach with people, too.
I don't control the political world.
If I get angry, it's obvious. I don't have to say much.
I've always been comfortable with people who run things, whether it was the principal of my high school or the president of the university.
I'm not feeling undertaxed. Tax reform is an important issue. You have to have an inherent sense of fairness.
I'm concerned with China growing at double or triple the rate of the West, that there will be tensions. One needs to do something to start addressing misunderstandings and frustration.
I love houses. I'm not sure why.
After years of studying French in school, one of my professors said he'd really appreciate it if I didn't take any more French.
My first trip to China was 1990, and that was in a world where there were virtually no cars at all on the road, and everybody had bicycles.
I have a saying: There are no brave old people in finance. Because if you're brave, you mostly get destroyed in your 30s and 40s. If you make it to your 50s and 60s and you're still prospering, you have a very good sense of how to avoid problems and when to be conservative or aggressive with your investments.
The best investments are the easiest ones to approve.
In the charitable world, I find myself giving to large projects that I think can make a large-scale impact.
In 2014, Blackstone was the most profitable money manager in the world. I did not anticipate that.
When you lose control of risk at a financial institution, you do a variety of unfortunate credit extensions or purchases - and all of a sudden, you've blown up your business.
Blackstone is a major client of many of the largest banks around the world.
Inaccurate analysis produces faulty insights and bad decisions - which lead to losing a tremendous amount of money.
I can't micromanage what anybody pays or doesn't pay. But the concept that half of the public isn't involved with the income-tax system is somewhat odd and I'm not saying how much people should do, but we should all be part of the system.
I don't feel like a wealthy person. Other people think of me as a wealthy person, but I don't. I feel the same as when I was a fifth-year associate trying to make partner at Lehman Brothers. I haven't changed.
My father was very bright. My mother had enormous drive. Put that together, and that's my gene pool.
My biggest job really is to figure other people out. I need to understand what makes a person tick.
For future geopolitical stability and global prosperity, we need to build a culture of greater trust and understanding between China, America and the rest of the world.
There's usually room in the theme parks business for efficiencies on the cost side and new investment, which drives traffic.
The Internet has turned everybody into a global person, whether they know it or not.
As long as you're excellent, things work out for you.
As you have more resources in life, it's your obligation to deploy those for the benefit of others.
One of the rules I've learned is that struggling to try and think your way into making an investment is usually the best way to not have a great outcome.
I like creating new things.
What I've found in being around political people is they're willing to negotiate their ideology somewhere around 5 percent. They believe that's really stepping out. And it's really hard to do business when you only move 5 percent from your ideology.
In life, you'll often find that having influence and providing sound advice is a good thing, even if it attracts criticism or requires some sacrifice.
Every year, I speak to our new associates and give them this advice, although in my own words. 'This isn't like school,' I tell them, 'where you want to get your hand in the air and give an answer quickly. The only grade here is 100. Deadlines are important, but at Blackstone you can always get help in meeting them.'
I grew up in a small town outside Philadelphia and went to the local high school, where I ran track all four years.
It's wonderful to learn about new cultures and to be able to travel easily to so many countries.
I've lived through periods of illiquidity before. Asset prices come down. The economy slows or even goes into recession. Then the cycle re-starts. We buy at lower prices with less leverage.
This country, of course, needs fundamental reform of our financial regulatory system, as I, and many other financial institution executives, have publicly advocated for a considerable period.
The library helps lower- and middle-income people - immigrants - get their shot at the American dream.
I love picking people. I started Blackstone, and we had no people, and now we have with our portfolio companies about 750,000 people all over the world. Everybody who is at a senior level has ultimately been picked by me.
