Stephen Schwarzman, the private-equity king, may have just set a new standard for wealth denial. In a revealing profile by Jim Stewart in the latest New Yorker, Mr. Schwarzman is asked about his recent displays of excess — the over-the-top birthday party at the Armory, his $37 million apartment in New York, his tear-down estate in Florida, the $34 million place in the Hamptons and so on. His lifestyle and sudden riches ($8 billion on the day Blackstone went public) turned him into what Mr. Stewart calls “the designated villain of an era on Wall Street.†Mr. Stewart asks him how it felt to be the object of so much negative attention. Mr. Schwarzman’s responds with wealth denial.
"I don't feel like a wealthy person,he says. Other people think of me as a wealthy person, but I don't. I feel the same as when I was a fifth-year associate trying to make partner at Lehman. I haven't changed. I'm always still trying." Maybe this is a case of his self-image lagging his fortune. But people with modest self-images don't usually hold parties in the Park Avenue Armory featuring Rod Stewart, Martin Short and a huge self-portrait.
Message to Mr. Schwarzman: you'e rich. As in Forbes list rich. As in, your grandkids-won't-ever-have-to-work rich.
And being that rich comes with lots of public attention on your actions (and your quotes).