Investor dedicated to knowing business

Both China and the US are quite similar. They are both very big countries, who are geographically isolated and protected. Neither of the two countries are typically interested in taking territories of other people, and people in those countries usually just speak one language.

So they're fundamentally self-reliant, isolated despite their huge scale and presence in the world. That similarity is a good thing, but you need bridges built between the people, and you need someone to interpret what's going on in each of the two giant countries.

I think a program like the Schwarzman Scholars is essential for helping that bridge-building process.

What qualities are you looking to see in successful candidates?

They need to have good grades, great intelligence. They need to be flexible, need to be insightful. They need to be people who like to make changes. And they need to have courage.

What are the most impressive cities in China that you have visited?

Actually, I'm a bad interviewer for you because I find all of them interesting due to their different industries and characteristics.

If you go to Hangzhou, it's very beautiful-the lakes and the history. That is quite different from Shanghai where the people are always on the move-traders, smart business people-which is different from Beijing, where the pace is a little slower and more deliberate, but still huge and interesting.

CV

Age: 68

Nationality: American

Forbes400Rank: 38

Career:

1985 onwards: Co-Founder, chairman and CEO, The Blackstone Group

1972-85: Senior managing director, chairman of the mergers and acquisitions committee, Lehman Brothers

1969: Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette

Education:

1972: MBA, Harvard Business School

1969: BS, Social Sciences, Yale University

Family:

Married with three children.