A biography for Stephen A. Schwarzmanhasn’t been written yet.
“The language skill in the U.S. for the most part has been awful. Many Americans don't learn any foreign language.”
“We need to be able to identify and support young people who demonstrate interest and aptitude in entrepreneurship and business creation and give them tools to follow this path throughout their educational experience.”
“The biggest mistake I've seen people make with their careers is, when they're good, after two or three years - and they happen to be smart - they announce that they're going out to start their own firm.”
“Ironically, when a bunch of very smart people are sitting around a table for hours trying to figure out whether they should do something, that tends to not necessarily lead to the best results.”
“I have no first-strike capability. I never choose to go into battle first. But I won't back down.”
“When you lose control of risk at a financial institution, you do a variety of unfortunate credit extensions or purchases - and all of a sudden, you've blown up your business.”
“It's wonderful to learn about new cultures and to be able to travel easily to so many countries.”
“As the world has become more predatory and aggressive, my impression is that the investment banking business has moved from being relationship-oriented to being increasingly transaction-oriented.”
“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.”
“Most youth are lacking critical life skills that make them employable and, most importantly, able to keep a job - things like teamwork, decision-making, and time management.”
“I didn't want to be a retailer. I hated to wait on people.”
“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.”
“Deals really have to do with the overlap of what one side wants and the other side wants, and it's really just the discovery of where that overlap is and how you decide to get there.”
“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.”
“The Internet has turned everybody into a global person, whether they know it or not.”
“We have limited time, and we have to maximize it.”
“Live life intensely - I've always believed in that.”
“Business is usually a team sport. There isn't one great person sitting there directing things. You can't run an effective business like that.”
“Sleeping at night is not a specialty of entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur who is sleeping soundly, something bad is happening to that person; they just don't know it's happening yet.”
“My biggest job really is to figure other people out. I need to understand what makes a person tick.”