Blackstone: how the business works

Each line = amount ÷ total money in × 100. Lines may not add to exactly $100 because of rounding.

Pension funds, insurers and individuals pay Blackstone fees and a share of profits to invest their money; staff pay is its largest cost, and about $20 of every $100 that comes in stays as net income for Blackstone Inc.'s shareholders.

• 01In FY2025, 55.9% of Blackstone's $14.5 billion of revenue was management fees, 6.8% incentive fees and 36.3% investment income, mostly its share of fund profits.
• 02Another $20.4 of every $100 that came in during FY2025 went to outside owners, mostly holders of Blackstone Holdings partnership units (Cityfort calculation from the FY2025 10-K).

• Fund investors, through management and advisory fees

  56%

  of revenue

  Pension funds, insurers and individuals pay fees on the money Blackstone manages for them: $8,075.6 million, 55.9% of FY2025 revenue.

• Funds, through incentive fees

  7%

  of revenue

  Fees some vehicles pay when returns pass a set level: $978.2 million, 6.8% of FY2025 revenue.

• Fund profits and Blackstone's own investments

  36%

  of revenue

  Blackstone's share of fund profits (performance allocations) and returns on its own money in its funds, realized and unrealized: $5,251.2 million, 36.3% of FY2025 revenue.

• Interest, dividends and other

  1%

  of revenue

  Interest and dividend revenue of $416.1 million, less $270.9 million of negative other revenue: 1.0% of FY2025 revenue.

EBITDA here = operating income plus depreciation and amortization (from the cash flow statement). Fiscal years are the company's own (Dec 31 (calendar year); Q3 FY2026 is July–September 2026.). Net profit is the share belonging to the company's owners. Total net income differs from net profit to the company's owners: Total net income includes $2,321.3 million for Blackstone Holdings partnership unitholders and $706.1 million for outside investors in consolidated funds.

Download Blackstone's yearly and quarterly numbers (CSV, with source ids)

Learn: Fiscal years that don't end in December: Nvidia's FY2027 explained · Stock-based compensation and dilution: pay that becomes shares

• Stephen A. Schwarzman

  Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder · since 1985

  Co-founded Blackstone in 1985; Chairman since Mar 20, 2007. 2025 total pay was $125.6 million: a $350,000 salary and $125.3 million of other compensation, mostly carried interest and incentive distributions. He held 52.2% of Blackstone Holdings partnership units at Feb 20, 2026.

• Jonathan D. Gray

  President and Chief Operating Officer · since 2018

  In his current role since 2018 and a director since February 2012; formerly Global Head of Real Estate. Named to succeed Schwarzman as founding member of the Series II preferred stockholder. 2025 total pay was $96.1 million.

• Michael S. Chae

  Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer · since 2015

  CFO since August 2015 and Vice Chairman since January 2025. 2025 total pay was $29.3 million.

• Joseph Baratta

  Director; Global Head of Private Equity Strategies · since 2012

  Head of Private Equity Strategies since July 2012 and a director since March 2020. He will leave the board on Dec 31, 2026 in connection with his planned retirement, cutting it from 8 to 7 directors.

• Governance

  Common stockholders do not control the board

  Common stockholders cannot elect or remove Blackstone's directors. One Series II preferred share, held by an entity controlled by Stephen A. Schwarzman, elects the board, and Blackstone is a controlled company under NYSE rules. Jonathan D. Gray is named to succeed Schwarzman in that role.

  Watch Board changes, starting with Joseph Baratta's departure on Dec 31, 2026.

• Demand

  Revenue moves with asset prices

  Revenue fell 62.3% in FY2022 and FY2023 included −$1,691.7 million of unrealized performance allocations. In Q3 FY2026, unrealized performance allocations were −$627.1 million while realized ones were $831.8 million. Paper gains can reverse, and some performance fees can be clawed back.

  Watch Unrealized performance allocations and net accrued performance revenues ($7.3 billion at Sep 30, 2026) in each earnings release.

• Demand

  Falling real estate fees

  Real Estate management fees fell 9% in Q3 FY2026 from a year earlier, to $628.8 million. Real Estate gave 29.9% of FY2025 segment distributable earnings. BREIT began to prorate repurchase requests in November 2022, and its inflows then fell.

  Watch Real Estate management fees and inflows in each earnings release.

• Concentration

  Large funds for individual investors

  BCRED paid Blackstone $1.2 billion of fees in FY2025, about 8% of revenue (Cityfort calculation from the FY2025 10-K). BREIT paid $839.9 million in FY2023. Such funds may limit redemptions, which the 10-K says has hurt subscriptions before.

  Watch BCRED's net asset value ($41.1 billion at Sep 30, 2026) and its fees in the FY2026 10-K.

• Debt

  Rising borrowings

  Operating borrowings rose from $11,233.5 million at Dec 31, 2024 to $13,070.8 million at Jun 30, 2026, including $800 million drawn on the revolving credit facility. Blackstone issued $1.1 billion more of notes on Nov 2, 2026.

  Watch Borrowings and cash in the Q3 FY2026 10-Q and the FY2026 10-K.

• Legal

  Kentucky pension lawsuit

  Lawsuits over the Kentucky Retirement System, open since 2017, allege breaches of fiduciary duty over the system's investment in three hedge funds of funds, one managed by Blackstone Alternative Asset Management L.P. A January 2025 settlement terminated after the court declined in May 2025 to enter the approval order it required, and FY2025 results include an accrual of an amount the 10-K does not state.

  Watch Court rulings or a new settlement in the legal notes of each 10-Q.

• Other

  Pay takes a large share

  Compensation and benefits were $5,620.5 million in FY2025, 38.9% of revenue. Stock-based pay (what this means)Stock-based payPay given as shares instead of cash, which spreads ownership more thinly. Learn more was $1,445.4 million, about 48% of net income attributable to Blackstone Inc.

  Watch Compensation against revenue in each quarterly release.

What is Blackstone's business model?

Blackstone raises money from pension funds, insurers and individuals and invests it through funds in real estate, private equity, credit and multi-asset strategies. It managed $1,368.3 billion of total assets at Sep 30, 2026, and earned revenue of $14.5 billion in FY2025.

How does Blackstone make money?

Blackstone earns management fees on the money it manages and a share of fund profits. In FY2025, Blackstone's revenue of $14,450.3 million was 55.9% management and advisory fees, 6.8% incentive fees, 36.3% investment income and 1.0% other.

Is Blackstone profitable?

Yes. Blackstone reported net income attributable to Blackstone Inc. of $3,019.2 million in FY2025, and total net income of $6,046.6 million including the share of partnership unitholders and fund investors. In the first nine months of FY2026, net income attributable to Blackstone Inc. was $2,541.3 million.

What is Blackstone's revenue by segment?

On Blackstone's own segment basis, FY2025 segment revenues of $13,076.7 million split into Private Equity $5,056.2 million, Real Estate $3,551.0 million, Credit & Insurance $3,440.0 million and Multi-Asset Investing $1,029.5 million (Cityfort calculation from the FY2025 10-K). GAAP revenue was $14,450.3 million.

Who are Blackstone's customers?

Blackstone's customers are the investors in its funds, such as pension funds, insurers and individual investors, and, for widely held vehicles, the vehicle itself. Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED) paid Blackstone $1.2 billion of fees in FY2025.

Who owns Blackstone?

Blackstone's common stock trades on the NYSE. Vanguard Capital Management reported 7.53% of the common stock at Mar 31, 2026, and BlackRock 6.2% in a January 2024 filing. Blackstone's officers and directors held under 1% of the common stock but 64.6% of Blackstone Holdings partnership units at Feb 20, 2026.

How big is Blackstone?

Blackstone had $1,368.3 billion of total assets under management and $989.7 billion of fee-earning assets under management at Sep 30, 2026. Blackstone employed about 5,285 people at Dec 31, 2025, including 268 senior managing directors.

How much does Blackstone earn from private equity?

Blackstone's Private Equity segment had FY2025 management and advisory fees of $2,771.6 million and segment distributable earnings of $2,907.5 million, the most of its four segments. Private Equity assets under management were $465.4 billion at Sep 30, 2026, up 18% in a year.

How much does Blackstone earn from real estate?

Blackstone's Real Estate segment had FY2025 management and advisory fees of $2,781.9 million and segment distributable earnings of $2,360.4 million. Real Estate assets under management were $309.0 billion at Sep 30, 2026, and Real Estate management fees fell 9% in Q3 FY2026 from a year earlier.

How much does Blackstone earn from credit and insurance?

Blackstone's Credit & Insurance segment had FY2025 management and advisory fees of $1,929.6 million and segment distributable earnings of $1,958.5 million. Credit & Insurance assets under management were $480.0 billion at Sep 30, 2026, up 11% in a year.

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