Business | Alternative reality

Stephen Schwarzman says that Blackstone is not done growing

Can the boss of the world’s biggest buy-out firm make it bigger while keeping it profitable?

|NEW YORK

WHEN BUY-OUT firms first came to prominence in the 1980s, they were seen as wolves in fine Italian wool. Private-equity (PE) companies won a reputation for devouring companies, which they loaded with debt, stripped of assets and rid of workers. All to make a killing for their millionaire investors—and themselves.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Alternative reality”

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