● King of Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone
by David Carey
Review via Basil and Spice
“King of Capital” describes how Blackstone went from two guys and a secretary to being one of Wall Street’s most powerful institutions, far outgrowing its much older rival KKR; and how Steve Schwarzman, with a pay packet one year of $398 million and $684 million from the Blackstone IPO (which came later in 2007), came to epitomize the spectacular new financial fortunes amassed in the 2000s. Along the way, private equity firms tried — and largely succeeded — in improving their image from predatory “grave dancers” that “stripped” — sold off the assets — of companies they bought and “flipped” — quickly resold the companies, often to foreign companies that closed plants, laid off workers and beggared whole communities.
