Blackstone chiefs pay themselves first
In The Wall Street Journal, George Anders reports (subscription required) on just how much of a corporate governance chamber pot Blackstone is: "Blackstone's top executives set their own pay, without the checks and balances -- sometimes perfunctory, sometimes real -- set up by other public companies."
Blackstone has no compensation committee, so partners Schwarzman and co-founder Peter Peterson make their own pay decisions.
Perhaps this explains how Schwarzman earned $350 million in 2007, in spite of the evaporation of more than $4 billion in market value since the company's IPO in June.
I know that a lot of investors are looking at Blackstone anew now that is dipped down to the $16 per share range. But without good corporate governance -- or any meaningful corporate governance -- I would still be skeptical about the company.
It's also disappointing that the New York Stock Exchange provides a market for companies that are run for their benefit of their insiders, not their shareholders.
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