This morning's Wall Street Journal [subscription] scored a coup -- an exclusive interview with Blackstone Group's (prospective trading symbol BX) CEO Steve Schwarzman.
The interview's theme -- that Schwarzman is the private equity industry's answer to Napoleon -- did not delve into the question of whether it makes sense to invest in what Schwarzman is selling to the public. But it did include some fascinating personal details:
-
At 5' 6" he is a "little man" who wants to "inflict pain" on and "kill off" his rivals;
-
He noticed that one of the servants at his 11,000 square foot Palm Beach mansion wore squeaky rubber soled shoes;
-
He ate $400 worth of stone crabs there during his 15 minute lunches; and
-
He neglected to invite his rival -- KKR partner, Henry Kravis-- to his lavish 60th birthday celebration -- to which a huge portrait of Schwarzman, which usually hangs in his living room, was shipped -- because he had never been invited to Kravis's home.
Should you invest with him? Yes. However, the securities he's selling in this IPO will not enable you to do so. I have been plowing through its prospectus and have come to the conclusion that you should avoid these securities. Here's why:
