One Successful American — Stephen A. Schwarzman
Here briefly, is the story of Steve Schwarzman. Forbes Magazine named Steve the 53rd richest person in the US in 2008, however it’s his extraordinary accomplishments in the financial sector and his generosity to education and the arts that make his account fascinating. His biography illustrates that the greatest qualities in succeeding in business are work plus commitment. Stephen A. Schwarzman and his business partner Peter Peterson founded the private equity management and financial advisory firm Blackstone Group in the 1980’s. The business has grown from strength to strength and nowadays is colossal in the mergers and acquisitions field. After calling the Philadelphia suburban area home for much of his young life, Steve Schwarzman attended school in the Abington School District. After high school Steve chose undergraduate study at the elevated Yale University in Connecticut. Harvard Business School was the next stop on his fast-track to success, here he graduated in 1972. Then Steve started his career in earnest at Lehman Brothers investment bank, situated in Manhattan. By the age of thirty one, he was already one of their managing directors. Steve doesn’t just give of his time to a broad range of not-for-profit organizations, but in addition he has also served as a non-faculty professor at Yale. Beyond this, he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan. In addition, to give back even more, Steve recently contributed to the New York Public Library a hundred million dollars to help fund their building project. He is also one of the trustees of the library.
And so, America’s elite look at Steve Schwarzman as a role model — As one of Times Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People alive today, Steve is these days widely followed by the newspapers and influencing business and finance all over the globe. His supremacy in the business and financial communities has been nothing short of miraculous, and no doubt his willingness to give to the community has given business magnates a brand-new benchmark to achieve to themselves.
So the business community awaits Steve’s next project. Thus, in summary, Steve has grasped every opportunity offered to him, yet in return he has at the same time made good use of his money and influence as a means to cultivate his community.
