Chapter 1: Repaying my debt to Japan: Stephen Schwarzman

I co-founded Blackstone, an American investment firm, in 1985.
 
We began with just two people. Over the next 40 years, that small firm grew into a thriving global enterprise with 5,000 employees. Today, clients around the world entrust us with more than $1.3 trillion in assets under management, roughly 160 trillion yen, a sum larger than Japan's general-account budget.
 
When people hear the term "asset management," they may think first of stocks and bonds. Blackstone is focused on the private markets, with 85 different strategies across asset classes, from listed equities and stakes in private companies to real estate, infrastructure and more. For example, we are also the world's largest owner of data centers, the essential facilities that power artificial intelligence, which is now reshaping the global economy.
 
Assets outside the traditional world of stocks and bonds are known as "alternatives." They require greater expertise and more hands-on management, but they can also offer the potential for higher returns. In this field, Blackstone has become the world's largest player.
 
The Monday meetings that link our offices around the globe embody the essence of our culture. By connecting seemingly unrelated dots, we try to bring into view a future that others have not yet seen.
 
The warning signs of the financial crisis triggered by the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, the major U.S. investment bank, also emerged with striking clarity in those meetings. In this series, I will pull back the curtain on how they work.
 
I wear many hats beyond that of investor. One of them is trying to be of service on behalf of my country with leaders around the world. When asked, I have provided advice to U.S. Presidents of both parties on matters related to economic policy and trade.
 
One example is the effort to ease tensions between the United States and China. Soon after President Trump took office,  he asked me to communicate the US point of view to China. Even now, I continue to serve by helping convey President Trump’s agenda and our country’s goals. I will share, to the extent I can, what takes place behind the scenes of this bilateral diplomacy.
 
My relationships have extended to political leaders around the world. Among them was former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abenomics, which Mr. Abe launched in 2013, brought a revolution to the Japanese economy.
 
At the time, I felt I was seeing Japanese people laugh from the heart for the first time in 20 years. After long years of stagnation, they had grown tired of resignation. By choosing Mr. Abe, they had chosen to change the course of their country.

Mr. Abe was one of the wisest statesmen in the world. When he was shot and killed in 2022, the sense of loss and gloom I felt was beyond words.
 
I started Blackstone convinced it would succeed. But in the early years, we struggled badly. The business was going nowhere fast. What rescued us from that predicament was Japanese money, which was then at the height of its global power. In a real sense, Japan helped build Blackstone.
 
Sony Group has been a client since those days. I owe a great deal to its founders, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. But the person who helped me most was one gutsy securities man. In this series, I will also explore my heartfelt, lifelong friendship with Yasuo -- Yasuo Kanzaki -- who made his mark at Nikko Securities.
 
Blackstone withdrew from Japan for a time in the 1990s after the collapse of the nation's asset price bubble. But I am now convinced that Japan will be a core investment destination over the next 10 or 20 years. The time has come for me, through the investing I know best, to play a part in Japan's growth and repay my debt to the Japanese people who helped me grow, Yasuo among them.
 
I have never had a personal motto, but as I look back on my life for this series two guiding ideas come to mind. One is "a better tomorrow." The other is "learn every day."
 
I believe today is the best day of my life, and I want to be able to say the same tomorrow. To do that, I must keep learning, humbly and relentlessly, day by day.
 
In this series, I will write about the failures that brought me tears of frustration, as well as the lessons and successes that came from them. I want readers to know the true face of a man who has tried to learn every day for the sake of a better tomorrow.