Jonathan D. Gray

Jonathan D. Gray (born February 4, 1970) is an American billionaire and the president and chief operating officer of Blackstone Group, a New York-based asset management firm.[2] He also serves as chairman of Hilton Worldwide.[3]

Jonathan D. Gray
Born (1970-02-04) February 4, 1970
Highland Park, Illinois, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA)
OccupationPresident and COO of The Blackstone Group
Chairman of Hilton Worldwide
Net worthUS$3.7 billion (May 2020)[1]
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Mindy Basser (m.1995)
Children4

Early life

Born in Highland Park, Illinois.[4][5] His father Allen Gray was an investment adviser and owned a small auto parts manufacturer on the West Side of Chicago (coincidentally named Blackstone Manufacturing); his mother Susan, remarried to his stepfather James Florsheim, ran a catering business.[6] His parents divorced when he was young.[6] In 1992, Gray graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) magna cum laude with a B.A. in English from the School of Arts & Sciences and a B.S. from the Wharton School.[6] He was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Career

In 1992, Gray joined Blackstone's mergers and acquisitions and private equity group,[6] and was offered a position in the company's newly formed real estate private equity group shortly thereafter. He was made co-head of the real estate group in 2005 and named global head of real estate in 2011.[7]

Today, Blackstone's real estate business is the largest opportunistic real estate investment manager in the world with $111 billion[8] of investor capital under management,[9] which includes a $16 billion global real estate fund and a $9 billion[10] European fund.[11]

As global head of real estate, Gray oversees a diverse portfolio including hotel, office, retail, industrial, and residential properties in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Major holdings include Hilton Worldwide, Equity Office Properties, Invitation Homes, Logicor, and the leading owner of office space in India.[12] Gray currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Hilton Worldwide, which went public in December 2013. Blackstone's investment in Hilton was profiled in a September 2014 Bloomberg Businessweek cover story.[13] Gray was named in Fortune's "40 under 40,"[14] in 2009. In 2016, he ranked #1 on Commercial Observer's "Power 100" ranking of the most powerful people in New York City real estate.[15]

In 2008, Gray led the firm's efforts in establishing Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS), provider of high yield debt capital.

In 2013, BREDS launched Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT) to provide first mortgage debt capital to real estate borrowers. Also in 2013, when Gray was President of Blackstone's Real Estate division, he helped create a business venture through Blackstone called Invitation Homes to buy foreclosed single-family houses and turn them into rentals.[16][17] The Wall Street Journal reported that Gray went on the “biggest home buying spree in history” after the foreclosure crisis, spending $10 billion in the company's first four years.[18] The firm would later come under criticism for its business model, and Elizabeth Warren criticized Blackstone for "shamelessly" profiting from the 2008 housing crisis.[19]

In February 2018, it was announced that Gray would become president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, replacing Hamilton "Tony" James.[7][20]

Politics

In 2016, it was reported that Gray was under consideration as Treasury Secretary for the incoming presidential administration of Donald Trump.[21] Gray's boss and Trump's friend Stephen A. Schwarzman quickly dismissed the idea that a slot in a Republican cabinet would be offered to a Democratic supporter like Gray.[7] Gray withdrew his name from consideration[22] and Steven Mnuchin was eventually nominated and confirmed.

Gray has been a major Democratic donor, backing Hillary Clinton in 2016[22] and several Democratic presidential candidates in the 2020 election[23][24][25][26]

Philanthropy

Cancer research

In May 2012, Gray and his wife, Mindy Gray, founded the Basser Research Center,[27] named in honor of Mindy's sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44. The Grays donated $25 million to create the Basser Research Center, which focuses on cancer prevention, treatment, and research of BRCA-related, genetically-inherited cancers.[28] This donation also established the Basser Global Prize,[29] honoring cutting-edge cancer research. In January 2014, the Basser Research Center announced an additional $5 million gift from the couple to fund an external research grant program.[30] Town & Country (magazine) noted this work in its "Top Philanthropists of 2016" feature, in which the Grays were included.[31]

In May 2017, the Grays announced they would be donating $21 million to the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania, bringing their total pledges to the initiative to $55 million.[32] In July 2019, it was announced that the Grays would donate a further $25 million for research on pernicious genetic mutations that can lead to breast and ovarian cancer.[33]

Other philantropy

The Gray Foundation was launched in 2014 with two distinct missions: Accelerating research, improving treatment and raising awareness for individuals who have inherited BRCA mutations; and maximizing access to education, healthcare and opportunity for low-income youth in New York City.[34]

In November 2016, The New York Times reported on a $10 million donation from the Grays to finance a pilot program that creates college savings accounts for thousands of New York City public school kindergartners.[35] Gray serves on the board of The Trinity School, as well as on the board of Harlem Village Academies,[36] a group of charter schools in New York City. Gray recently donated $10 million to purchase a building in northern Manhattan which will serve as the organization's second elementary school.

Personal life

In 1995, Gray married Mindy Basser at Temple Beth Zion Israel in Philadelphia; the ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Ira F. Stone.[37] He lives in Manhattan with his wife and their four daughters, Margo, Emma, Stella, and Tess.[6] In August 2013, Bloomberg estimated his net worth at just over $1.0 billion due to his owning 40.6 million Blackstone shares valued at $913 million combined with over $120 million in bonuses and salary.[28]

In 2016, Gray was named to Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" list.[38]

See also

References
  1. "Forbes profile: Jonathan Gray". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  2. "Jonathan Gray". Blackstone.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-16. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  3. "Board of Directors". Hilton Worldwide. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  4. Yu, Hui-Yong; Ivry, Bob (February 14, 2007). "Jon Gray Skips Party, Afraid Record Buyout Will Fail". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014.
  5. "Blackstone Reports Record Year : Jonathan Gray's Real Estate Group Chips In 60% Of The Profits – Jewish Business News". Jewishbusinessnews.com. 2014-02-03. Archived from the original on 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  6. New York Observer: "Jonathan Gray, Blackstone's Real Estate Wizard Behind the Curtain" By Matt Chaban Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine August 17, 2011
  7. Geiger, Casey; Sullivan, Daniel (27 January 2021). "Jon Gray is the future of Blackstone. 50 insiders reveal how the superinvestor consolidated power, elbowed out rivals, and is remaking the firm in his golden-boy image". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. Dividend, Sure (2017-10-25). "The Top 3 MLPs With 5%-Plus Yields (That Have Nothing To Do With Oil And Gas)". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  9. "Blackstone Tops $100B in Global RE AUM". GlobeSt.com. 2016-04-21. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  10. Grant, Peter (2017-06-08). "Blackstone Group Raises €7.8 Billion for European Property Fund". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  11. "Blackstone Gets $15.8 Billion for Biggest Ever Real Estate Fund". Bloomberg. 2015-10-01. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  12. "Investment strategy: The new property barons". Ft.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  13. "Blackstone's Hilton Deal: Best Leveraged Buyout Ever - Bloomberg". Businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-27. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  14. "40 under 40 - Jonathan Gray (7) - FORTUNE". Money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  15. "Power 100". Commercial Observer. 2016-04-20. Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  16. Clark, Patrick (2019-11-21). "Blackstone Exits Single-Family Rental Bet Slammed by Warren". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  17. "Invitation to a Housing Revolution". D Magazine. 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  18. Dezember, Ryan (2016-12-06). "Wall Street as Landlord: Blackstone Going Public with a $10 Billion Bet on Foreclosed Homes". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  19. Egkolfopoulou, Misyrlena; Perlberg, Heather. "Warren Calls Out Blackstone for "Shameless" Profies From Housing". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  20. "Blackstone's Homegrown Dealmaker Finally Makes It to the Top". Bloomberg.com. 2018-02-13. Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  21. Hui-yong Yu (2016-11-20). "Trump Said to Discuss Treasury Post With Blackstone's Gray". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  22. White, Ben (November 23, 2016). "Blackstone executive Jonathan Gray won't serve as Treasury secretary". POLITICO. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  23. Kelly, Kate; Goldmacher, Shane; Kaplan, Thomas (2020-08-09). "The Wallets of Wall Street Are With Joe Biden, if Not the Hearts". The New York Times.
  24. Cumming, Chris (2020-02-27). "Private-Equity Leaders Place Their Presidential Bets". The Wall Street Journal.
  25. Schwartz, Brian (2020-11-02). "Joe Biden's fundraiser list includes more than 30 executives with Wall Street ties". CNBC.
  26. Schwartz, Brian (2020-02-13). "Joe Biden to host more than 250 donors from Wall Street, big business at NYC fundraisers – here's the guest list". CNBC.
  27. "Basser Center for BRCA – Abramson Cancer Center". Penncancer.org. Archived from the original on 2015-08-02. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  28. "Blackstone's Gray Becomes Billionaire Amid Property Wager". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  29. "The 2013 Basser Global Prize - Bassser Research Center for BRCA -Penn Medicine". 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  30. "Penn Medicine's Basser Research Center for BRCA Announces Additional $5 Million Gift from Mindy and Jon Gray to Fund External Research Grant Program". January 13, 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  31. Menza, Kaitlin (2016-05-11). "The T&C 50: The Top Philanthropists of 2016". Townandcountrymag.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  32. "Blackstone's Gray Gives $21 Million to Hit Cancer Close to Home". Bloomberg.com. 2017-05-04. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  33. Wang, Jennifer. "Blackstone President Jonathan Gray Donates $25 Million To Tackle Deadly Breast Cancer Gene". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2020-10-17. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  34. "Gray Foundation". www.grayfoundation.org. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  35. "New York Seeks to Jump-Start College Savings by Giving Cash to Kindergartners' Parents". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  36. "Board". Harlem Village Academies. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  37. "WEDDINGS - Mindy Basser, Jonathan D. Gray". The New York Times. 1995-07-02. Archived from the original on 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  38. "The 2016 New Establishment List". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
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