This is Stephen Schwarzman’s story. Forbes Magazine named Stephen the fifty-third most well-heeled individual in the United States of America recently, but it isn’t money which makes this tale so intriguing but his unbelievable accomplishments in the business world and his patronage of the liberal arts. All this goes to show that the most significant qualities in achieving success are working hard and, of course, focused dedication.
In the eighties Stephen and Peter Peterson established their firm offering financial advice to the American public. As the years passed, it has set the standard in mergers and acquisitions, but be aware that Stephen didn’t initially manage his own business. Having called Philadelphia home for much of his young life, Stephen Schwarzman went to school in the School District of Abington. After graduating from high school he opted to study at the internationally acclaimed Yale University and obtained his degree in 1969. Harvard Business School near Boston, MA was the next step in his education, where he received his MBA in 1972. Once he had finished his time at college, Stephen commenced a job in investment banking. By the age of thirty-one, he had been appointed one of their managing directors.
Stephen A. Schwarzman gives financial support to a wide range of educational programs as well as teaching as an associate professor at the legendary Yale School of Management. What’s more, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in New York, New York. In addition, Stephen only last spring donated to the New York Public Library a hundred million dollars to assist in their construction program. They also called their new extension after him.
It’s not a surprise that Stephen Schwarzman has become part of the United States’ elite — last year he was mentioned as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People on earth in acknowledgement of his international influence on finance. His meteoric rise to power in the financial industry is surely astounding, and his willingness to donate to his own community as illustrated by his large donations to the liberal arts and education projects motivates individuals who see him as a role model.
As far as the financial world goes, Stephen A. Schwarzman can do no wrong. In summary, we find a person who has taken each and every opportunity offered to him, yet in return he has also used his wealth as a means to improve the lives of his fellow Americans.