At 14, Stephen Schwarzman (79) started his own business cutting grass and hired his younger twin brothers for the job while he focused on attracting clients. His drive and ambition to break out of the mediocre middle class he grew up in helped him become the richest man in New York.
At 79, according to Forbes, he has 41.7 billion dollars, ranking him 47th among the most powerful people on the planet. All thanks to partnering with Peter Peterson to create in 1985 a mergers and acquisitions company that evolved into a private equity firm, Blackstone, of which he is the chairman and CEO.
Dubbed "the king of Wall Street," Stephen Schwarzman first married Ellen Philips in 1971, and they had two children, Teddy, a film producer, and Zibby, a writer and podcaster. After divorcing in 1990, he remarried five years later to Christine Hearst -not related to the millionaire dynasty- who brought a child from her previous marriage.
With such wealth, Stephen can choose where and how he wants to live. The flagship of his real estate portfolio is the largest duplex at 740 Park Avenue, the most elegant address in New York, a building constructed by developer James T. Lee, Jackie Kennedy's grandfather.
This address is so exclusive that it not only attracts the wealthiest individuals in the country, but its board decides who can or cannot buy. In the past, they declined such an honor to Joan Crawford, Barbra Streisand, or Barbara Walters.
Schwarzman's apartment originally belonged to John D. Rockefeller Jr., heir to Standard Oil, with 1,850 square meters. It is widely known in the Big Apple that whoever inherits the largest penthouse at 740 inherits the throne of New York society itself.
Additionally, five years ago they purchased a legendary mansion from the Gilded Age known as Miramar, in Rhode Island, with 2,800 square meters for 27 million dollars. The Schwarzman couple has already instructed to turn the property into a public museum after their passing.
In 2022, he acquired a 17th-century mansion for 100 million dollars located on a 1,000-hectare estate that apparently belonged to politician Oliver Cromwell, who abolished the monarchy for nine years and was responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of Catholics.
Recently, it was revealed that he had purchased one of the most expensive yachts in the world for 400 million dollars. Named Project 1014 and built in the Netherlands, it is the largest yacht made entirely of carbon fiber, measuring 101 meters, with a capacity for up to 14 guests and 30 crew members. It features a helipad, a glass-bottom pool, and a beach club.
The multibillionaire is never satisfied with what he owns. His insatiable desire to accumulate more and more knows no bounds. A trait he certainly did not inherit from his father, who owned a curtain and bedding store in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, and refused to expand nationally when his teenage son asked him to.
In the book What It Takes, Stephen confessed that his father told him: "I am a very happy man. We have a nice house. We have two cars. I have enough money to send you and your siblings to college. What more do I need?"