Stephen A. Schwarzman Quotations

My father was very bright. My mother had enormous drive. Put that together, and that's my gene pool.

I can't micromanage what anybody pays or doesn't pay. But the concept that half of the public isn't involved with the income-tax system is somewhat odd and I'm not saying how much people should do, but we should all be part of the system.

I've always been comfortable with people who run things, whether it was the principal of my high school or the president of the university.

This country, of course, needs fundamental reform of our financial regulatory system, as I, and many other financial institution executives, have publicly advocated for a considerable period.

The library helps lower- and middle-income people - immigrants - get their shot at the American dream.

I love picking people. I started Blackstone, and we had no people, and now we have with our portfolio companies about 750,000 people all over the world. Everybody who is at a senior level has ultimately been picked by me.

If I get angry, it's obvious. I don't have to say much.

I'm not feeling undertaxed. Tax reform is an important issue. You have to have an inherent sense of fairness.

I'm concerned with China growing at double or triple the rate of the West, that there will be tensions. One needs to do something to start addressing misunderstandings and frustration.

I don't feel like a wealthy person. Other people think of me as a wealthy person, but I don't. I feel the same as when I was a fifth-year associate trying to make partner at Lehman Brothers. I haven't changed.

Down cycles are not fun. But they form the basis for enormous future profitability

I've lived through periods of illiquidity before. Asset prices come down. The economy slows or even goes into recession. Then the cycle re-starts. We buy at lower prices with less leverage.

It's wonderful to learn about new cultures and to be able to travel easily to so many countries.

For future geopolitical stability and global prosperity, we need to build a culture of greater trust and understanding between China, America and the rest of the world.

My biggest job really is to figure other people out. I need to understand what makes a person tick.

My personal taxes are 53% of my taxable income. That's 36% on the federal level and 17% for state and local.