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US billionaire private equity executive Stephen Schwarzman will receive an honorary British knighthood for services to philanthropy.
The prize was The British embassy announced it in Washington, and confirmed in a statement released by Blackstone, the company founded by Schwarzman.
Retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also receive an honorary knighthood, the embassy statement said.
In his statement, Schwarzman said he was “deeply honored to receive this honor and appreciates my long-standing ties to the United Kingdom.”
Knighthood is reserved for those who make a “preeminent contribution to any field of endeavor.” Other American business leaders who have received the award include Disney CEO Bob Iger and Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg.
Blackstone is one of the largest investors in the UK and has done business in the country since 1998, when it bought the Savoy Group’s hotel business.
Since then, the $1 trillion asset management giant has invested more than £70 billion in the country, buying large companies such as Merlin Entertainments, owner of Legoland, and properties ranging from residential accommodation, railway arches and dozens of logistics warehouses .
Last month, Blackstone began construction on a new 226,000-square-foot building that will serve as its European headquarters. The opening ceremony was attended by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the US Ambassador to the UK.
Blackstone has expanded aggressively in London in recent years and says it now employs more than 600 people, double the figure it employed about three years ago.
In addition to his group’s growing influence in the UK, Schwarzman has also made donations to numerous British institutions, including a £185 million donation to the University of Oxford to fund the construction of a new center for its history and science faculties. humanistic disciplines.
Schwarzman said he has “great admiration for the UK’s world-class educational institutions, such as the University of Oxford.”
He is one of the best-paid executives on Wall Street and recently pocketed nearly $900 million in salary and income. This was substantially lower than other payments received in recent years. In 2022 he earned 1.3 billion dollars and the year before more than 1 billion.
Shonda Rhimes, the television producer behind the hit series Bridgerton, Grey’s Anatomy AND Scandalwas made an Honorary Commander of the British Empire (CBE) – an award less than a knighthood, the embassy statement said.