Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Billion-Dollar Buzz Enlivens the Library
One after another, the New York Public Library’s Corporate Dinner speakers described the honoree, Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive of the about-to-go-public Blackstone Group, as the man of the moment.
“He has had only one direction: straight up,” the chairman of the library, Catherine Marron, who once worked with Mr. Schwarz man at Lehman Brothers, said.
Mr. Schwarzman certainly helped event’s proceeds go straight up: the total take was $2.2 million, $800,000 more than it was ever raised in the past.
But larger numbers were tickling the imaginations of the 400 guests as they dined on lobster in artichoke bottoms, veal Milanese, and lemon tarts: the final value of Blackstone’s initial public offering.
“This is the first time a trustee has been honored at our corporate dinner,” the president of the library, Paul LeClerc, said. “It’s a testimony of his prominence in the corporate world and the high regard in which he is held at the library.”
A co-chairman of the event, a vicechairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co., James Lee, downplayed Mr. Schwarzman’s wealth: “More important than being a titan, he’s a very special human being … he’s compassionate, incredibly loyal, and trustworthy to a fault. We’ve done thousands of deals with a verbal handshake, that was it.”
Mr. Lee also praised Mr. Schwarzman for being a great father, and for being a thoughtful friend who once called him at 3 in the morning to wish him a happy birthday.
In his own remarks, Mr. Schwarzman spoke mainly about his family. He noted that on Thursday, his daughter, Zibby Right, gave birth to twins at Mount Sinai Hospital. He thanked his son, Teddy Schwarzman, and Teddy’s fiancée, EllenZajac, for attending the event. He explained why his wife Christine was not present. Her sister has recently passed away and she has taken her nieces and nephews on a trip to Africa.
Having served six years as a trustee of the library, Mr. Schwarzman also talked about the library’s leadership — but not about his IPO.
“Paul LeClerc and Catherine Marron are running one of the most extraordinary institutions, and they have a lot of exciting plans for changing the physical interior of this place. They are at the most innovative edge,” Mr. Schwarzman said.
(Oh, for those still wondering: The buzz is that the man of the moment is expected to realize a momentous $7.5 billion from his stake in Blackstone.)
