
A year ago, wagering that Blackstone would join the $1tn-in-assets club in 2022 would have offered even odds. That, as with a few bets last year, would have lost money. On Thursday, Blackstone reported assets under management of $975bn at the end of 2022, up less than $100bn from 2021. Assets expanded by $260bn in that dream year.
After years of envious admiration for private capital, public markets called time on the bull run. Despite public debt and equity market indices each falling around a fifth in 2022, Blackstone’s private portfolio did hold up, at least according to their own marks. Its real estate funds returned at least seven per cent last year, Blackstone reported.