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☆ China Development Forum: Li Qiang rolls out the welcome wagon for foreign companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“China’s economy has been deeply integrated into the global division of labor.”Li pledged that the country will align with international economic and trade rules, give equal treatment to foreign investment and facilitate trade and investment by removing government controls. Worries about foreign investmentConcerns about foreign capital leaving China have grown. To boost business confidence, China’s new economic leadership is trying to reassure foreign business and the domestic private sector. “You are not foreigners, but family,” Wang Wentao, the commerce minister, told attendees at the China Development Forum. In a meeting with Cook on Monday, he said China is willing to “provide a good environment and services” for foreign enterprises including Apple.

☆ Thomas Lee, Private-Equity Pioneer, Struggled to Reprise Early Successes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Miriam Gottfried | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Thomas Lee at his New York office in 2019. Thomas H. Lee, who helped create the private-equity industry in the 1970s, struggled to capitalize on its explosive growth over the past two decades. The investor, who last month was found dead in his office from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, came of age in the era of such buyout legends as KKR & Co.’s Henry Kravis and George Roberts , Blackstone Inc.’s Stephen Schwarzman and Apollo Global Management Inc.’s Leon Black .

☆ Blackstone's real-estate business is totally fine, so please stop asking about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Blackstone's real-estate business is literally fine, everyone. Yes, the private-equity giant had to limit investors from pulling their money out from the $69 billion Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) in December. And yes, it's also true that Blackstone had to tell investors again on Wednesday that investors were pulling money from BREIT. Murphy, an executive at Standard Investments, serving as Blackstone's new COO of corporate private equity and Heather von Zuben's appointment as COO of Blackstone's credit arm. As much as I enjoy poking fun at Blackstone, Schwarzman and Gray aren't necessarily wrong, to a degree.

☆ Ken Griffin has built two of Wall Street's most powerful firms. His next target could be influencing politics.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel. It's good to be Ken Griffin. Plenty of people find success on Wall Street that most can only dream of. But Ken Griffin seems to be winning in ways that even his peers can't fathom. Click here to read more about Ken Griffin rise to the top of Wall Street and what could be next for the billionaire.

☆ The University of California invested $4 billion with Blackstone to buy up rental apartments and student housing, which they see as the bright spots in the real estate market this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The University of California is investing $4 billion with Blackstone to acquire rentals and student housing. The investment comes at a crucial time for Blackstone's Real Estate Income Trust Inc. fund — also known as BREIT— a $68 billion property investment vehicle. "We consider BREIT to be one of the best positioned, large-scale real estate portfolios in the US, managed by one of the world's top real estate investors," said Jagdeep Singh Bachher, the University of California's chief investment officer. The University of California's investment could become a model for other universities with large endowment funds — typically in the billions of dollars — that want to invest in real estate investment trusts or commercial real estate assets. BREIT's portfolio includes assets in popular college towns such as Fort Collins, Colorado, where Colorado State University is located, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which is home to Louisiana State University, according to the fund's website.

☆ These 20 execs are powering the $1.2 trillion private-credit market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

So who's behind this mysterious market that has now swelled to $1.2 trillion and accounts for more than 20% of the aggregate capital leverage companies borrowed? Insider's Rebecca Ungarino mapped out 20 of the most powerful people in the space from firms like Sixth Street, Golub Capital, Ares, and Blackstone. When PE firms start hunting for deals, these are the tech companies they'll target. Some tech companies are instructing managers to label low performers on their teams, potentially signally more cuts at some point in 2023. Turns out, having one room dedicated to booze isn't enough for the ultra-wealthy, The Wall Street Journal reports.

☆ Blackstone CEO says financially distressed investors driving REIT redemptions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Blackstone relies on the REIT for about 17% of its earnings. Large redemptions have been seen at other such funds, with investment firm Starwood Capital informing investors last week that its $14.6 billion non-traded REIT also had raised the gates. There has also been a wave of redemptions at other non-traded Blackstone funds marketed to high net-worth investors. He added the redemptions did not mean the investors were not happy with the REIT and its profits. Blackstone has reported a 9.3% year-to-date return for its REIT, net of fees, a contrast to the publicly traded Dow Jones U.S.

Nonetheless, they fueled investor concerns about the future of the REIT, which makes up about 17% of Blackstone's earnings. "People are taking profits at the value Blackstone says their REIT shares are at," said Snyder. As a result, the REIT allowed investors in November to redeem $1.3 billion, equivalent to approximately 43% of investors' repurchase requests. Some analysts said Blackstone's REIT runs the risk of getting caught in a spiral of selling assets to meet redemptions if it cannot regain the trust of its investors. On Blackstone's third-quarter earnings call in October, Gray blamed REIT redemptions on market volatility, which he said had driven away individual investors from active equity and fixed income funds.

☆ It's not just GOP donors — even Trump's onetime spiritual advisor is turning on him after his 2024 announcement, calling him a 'little elementary schoolchild'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Even Trump's onetime spiritual adviser is ditching him, after he announced his 2024 presidential bid. "If Mr. Trump can't stop his little petty issues, how does he expect people to stop major issues?" Even Trump's one-time spiritual adviser has publicly slammed him, calling him childish, a day after he announced his 2024 presidential run. This was after Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid on Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago, pledging to make America "great" and "glorious" again. Robison did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on whether he would endorse Trump's 2024 bid.

☆ GOP donor who gave Trump $120,000 in 2020 now says he won't give the former president anything
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A GOP donor who gave Donald Trump $120,000 in 2020 now says he won't give him a nickel. Andy Sabin, chairman of Sabin Metal Corp, told CNBC he blames Trump for the GOP's midterms results. Sabin gave Trump $120,000 in 2020, per CNBC. "At the end of the day, people stayed away because of Trump," Sabin said. Sabin told CNBC that he, too, blames Trump for the party's election failures.

☆ Blackstone's Schwarzman says he won't back Trump in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Blackstone Inc (BX.N) Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman, who has been one of Wall Street's biggest donors to Donald Trump's election campaigns, said on Wednesday he will not back the former president in 2024. Trump announced he would run in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, launching an early bid to become the Republican nominee in an effort to pre-empt potential rivals. Schwarzman said it was time for new party leadership and that he would back a different Republican in the presidential contest. "America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday," Schwarzman said. Schwarzman is the latest Republican to announce support for other candidates besides Trump.

☆ Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman says he won't support Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential primary
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blackstone CEO and GOP megadonor Steve Schwarzman says he won't support Donald Trump in 2024. Schwarzman and his wife donated $3 million to a Trump super PAC in 2020. The billionaire joins other prominent Republicans who say they will not support Trump's bid. Schwarzman and his wife, Christine Hearst Schwarzman, are Republican party megadonors. Schwarzman had previously criticized the January 6 Capitol rioters and did not support Trump's false claims that he had won the 2020 election.

☆ Blackstone CEO and GOP megadonor Steve Schwarzman says he won't help Trump during 2024 primary
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman listens to U.S. President Donald Trump during Trump's strategy and policy forum with chief executives of major U.S. companies at the White House in Washington February 3, 2017. Blackstone CEO and Republican megadonor Steve Schwarzman has no plans to fund former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign for the White House — at least not in the GOP primary. Schwarzman first allied himself with Trump late in the 2016 presidential election. Since Trump's initial run for president, Schwarzman has become one the Republican Party's biggest donors. During the 2020 presidential election, he donated $3 million to America First Action, a super PAC that backed Trump's candidacy, according to OpenSecrets.

☆ How private-equity firms, rich with investors' cash, plan to capitalize on a souring economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Casey Sullivan | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ultimate winners from the economic downturn may turn out to be private-equity firms. At the same time, private-equity firms are seeing fewer exits and fundraising is slowing. That's the private-equity industry, according to interviews with corporate advisors and a review of earnings transcripts. Regardless of the challenges, however, one positive note for the largest private-equity firms is that they are more diversified today. These relationships are better insulating private-equity firms from economic cycles, she added.

☆ Factbox: How Wall St and billionaires have donated to U.S. elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( John Mccrank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling, which struck down limits on political contributions by corporations or unions, political contributions of billionaires made up around 3% of overall political contributions, she said. Griffin said in a statement: "I hope that my political engagement will help to protect the American Dream. * Crypto-billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX was the sixth-largest donor, at $39.8 million with the vast majority going to help Democrats. * Elliott Management founder Paul Singer spent $19.7 million to support Republicans, making him the 15th-largest donor. * Renaissance Technologies founder Jim Simons, together with Marilyn Simons, were the 20th-largest donors, spending nearly $16 million to help Democrats.

☆ American billionaires spent a record $880 million on the U.S. midterm elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

America's billionaires spent a record $880 million on the U.S. midterm elections so far, with most of their spending favoring Republicans, according to a new report. They have given a total of $3.5 million to a single-candidate super PAC in Wisconsin supporting GOP Sen. Ron Johnson. A relative newcomer to the billionaire political class is Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old crypto mogul. He donated $40 million this cycle, most of it to a super PAC he created called Protect Our Future. Hedge-fund billionaire Stephen Mandel of Lone Pine Capital has spent $17.7 million on Democratic groups, including the super PAC Future Forward.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Wall Street executives, European bankers and Asian business leaders are arriving here Tuesday for the Saudi kingdom’s flagship investment conference, in a sign that a diplomatic spat with the U.S. isn’t turning off global investors from a petrostate with a roaring economy and growing geopolitical power. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and David Solomon , head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., are high-profile speakers at the conference, known colloquially as Davos in the Desert and officially as Future Investment Initiative. CEOs of the world’s biggest investment firms have also come, including Blackstone Inc.’s Stephen Schwarzman .

☆ America's top bankers worry more about the world than a recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The relationships of the Western world would have me far more concerned than whether there’s a mild or slightly severe recession [in the United States],” he added. “Saudi Arabia and the United States have been allies for 75 years. Fix social media but keep innovatingSchwarzman also highlighted rising interest rates and “the problems of relationships among countries” as the major challenges facing businesses. To that list he added social media. “One of the things that we’re almost not aware of is how difficult it is for governments to function in a world of social media,” Schwarzman said.

☆ Blackstone's president, Jonathan Gray, says rental properties are still a smart investment as developers slash supply, keeping rents high
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gray said this is good news for Blackstone, which has invested heavily in multifamily real estate. But as real estate isn't immune from the rising interest rates rocking most financial markets, multifamily investments that grew significantly last year are still facing headwinds. Jonathan Gray, Blackstone's president and chief operating officer, says there's no need to panic, though, given other economic factors now in play. He argued that demand for rental housing isn't going anywhere and that with supply further constrained, rents can continue to rise. Gray described rental properties as "beneficial" because it doesn't cost much to invest in them after they're built.

☆ Blackstone is betting big on lending out money in the private markets, and the PE giant has $182 billion to do it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Blackstone has some money to lendBlackstone, the world's largest private-equity firm and a big fan of warehouses, reported earnings on Thursday. By comparison, back in the good ole days (see: Q3 2021), Blackstone reported a profit of $1.4 billion. Blackstone reported its private credit unit was up 3% in the third quarter and 9.3% over the past 12 months. To read more about Blackstone's push into private credit, click here. A Fed president spoke somewhere that a Fed president shouldn't really be speaking, The New York Times reported.

As Gen Z entrepreneurs create innovative businesses, they're taking advice from former heavyweights. Here are 19 books Gen Z founders recommend for aspiring entrepreneurs. Many Gen Z entrepreneurs are creating new and innovative businesses like voice-messaging companies, restaurants, jewelry brands. As they build their companies, they're taking advice from the heavyweights who came before. Insider spoke with 19 Gen Z founders from around the world to learn which books they recommend for aspiring entrepreneurs.

☆ Finding hidden gems with a 99th-percentile investor
▼ + stars: | 2020-06-30 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If you aren't yet a subscriber to Investing Insider, you can sign up here. Confusing times call for clarity, and the Investing team at Business Insider is here to unpack the ever-changing market landscape. -- JoeJoin Business Insider on July 8 at 12 p.m. Fund manager Aram Green specializes in finding promising companies that are about to start getting a lot more attention. Business Insider spoke with three experts who laid out where they think investors should be looking and putting their money ahead of likely market fluctuations.

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