Blackstone Inc. CEO Steve Schwarzman took home $896.7 million last year, a 30% drop from the previous year but still one of the largest annual payouts ever in high finance .
Schwarzman, 77, has collected $777 million in dividends from his roughly 20% stake in the alternative asset manager alone, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. He earned another $120 million, mostly through incentive fees and the share of the fund’s profits known as carried interest. He received a record amount of 1.27 billion dollars in 2022.
Blackstone slowed the pace of unwinding deals last year as potential buyers stayed on the sidelines and high interest rates held back valuations. This has left brokers and executives with a smaller pool of profits tied to asset sales.
Meanwhile, the New York-based company raised less from investors such as pension funds as many were more wary of parting with cash.
Schwarzman’s holdings and dividends again they anointed him as one of the richest people in the world. His fortune is linked to the company he co-founded. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth is $41.8 billion.
Blackstone Chairman Jon Gray, Schwarzman’s heir, got $266.4 million in 2023, down from $479.2 million a year earlier. He collected $141 million in dividends from his shares, as well as $125 million in salaries, stock awards and other compensation.
Bank CEOs
When dividends are taken into account, both men make more than the CEOs of Wall Street’s biggest banks, where compensation packages for the top typically run into the tens of millions.
Schwarzman and Gray’s windfall highlights the clout of the private equity industry. Blackstone, like other buyout shops, has become a powerhouse touching all aspects of the economy, lending to businesses and financing infrastructure projects.
Blackstone said in an emailed statement that its executives are paid based on their performance for investors. “We have been through a volatile period in the markets for our customers,” the company said.
In a quiet year for the company’s dealmakers and fund investors, shareholders still did well.
The stock gained 83% last year, including reinvested dividends, beating its larger peers and the S&P 500, which returned 26%. Blackstone joined the S&P 500 in 2023.