Blackstone’s Schwarzman Recalls the Advice That Changed His Life

(Bloomberg Markets) -- Stephen Schwarzman was the subject of our cover Q&A in the June/July 2017 issue. Here, the chairman of Blackstone Group LP divulges some of his off-duty habits and preferences to Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua, co-anchor of Bloomberg Surveillance and host of Leaders With Lacqua.

How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

Five.

Are you a morning or evening person?

Morning.

What’s your typical workout?

About an hour and 15 minutes of cardio and weight training every day.

What’s your favorite sport or sports team?

Tennis to play. The Patriots to watch.

Which app is in heavy rotation on your phone?

I’d have to say the email app, sadly.

What’s your go-to lunch spot?

The Four Seasons.

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou.

What’s your favorite place to go on vacation?

St-Tropez.

Which living or historical person do you truly admire?

 Franklin Roosevelt.

If you had to take a year off, what would you do?

I’d get on a boat and travel around the world. I love being on the water, and I love having time to think. It gives me the freedom to invent and, most importantly, to solve problems, which is a lot of what my life is these days.

What’s the last thing that made you laugh?

My last meeting. I try to find and deploy humor as much as possible throughout the day. When you work as hard as we do, it’s important to laugh to keep perspective.

What’s your biggest fear?

I worry about the country moving away from its core values as the political environment gets more and more polarized.

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten?

Dick Jenrette wrote me a six-page letter convincing me not to drop out of Harvard Business School. He wanted to drop out in December of the first year just like I did. He stayed and he told me to stay. It changed my life.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christine Harper at charper@bloomberg.net

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