Blackstone CEO takes home more than any private equity executive in 2020

(Reuters)

Blackstone Group Inc Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman pocketed at least US$610.5 million in 2020 from dividends and compensation, more than any other private equity executive and up 20 per cent from last year, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory filings showed.

The majority of the windfall stemmed from Schwarzman’s 19.3 per cent stake in Blackstone. Its distributable earnings jumped 16 per cent year-over-year in 2020 as the world’s largest manager of alternative assets such as real estate and private equity capitalised on the capital market’s rally following the Federal Reserve’s moves to support the U.S. economy during the pandemic.

Schwarzman, 74, received US$86.4 million in compensation and US$524.1 million in dividends from his Blackstone shares, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. His net worth is currently pegged by Forbes at US$22.3 billion.

Blackstone President Jonathan Gray, Schwarzman’s No. 2, took home at least US$216.1 million in 2020, consisting of US$123.2 million in compensation and US$92.8 million in dividends from the company’s shares he owns, the filing showed. Gray, 51, has a net worth of US$4.5 billion, according to Forbes.

“Executive compensation at Blackstone is directly tied to investor and shareholder performance,” a Blackstone spokesman said in a statement, adding that most of it reflected realised performance fees from investments and long-dated stock grants.

Apollo Global Management Inc Chairman Leon Black, who agreed to relinquish his role as the company’s CEO by July following an investigation of his ties to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, collected at least US$185.2 million in 2020, another regulatory filing showed.

Black, 69, received US$423,687 in compensation, US$182.3 million in dividends from his Apollo shares and US$2.5 million from his personal investments in the firm’s funds. His net worth is pegged at US$8.5 billion, according to Forbes.

APOLLO’S INCOMING CEO EARNS BIG BUCKS TOO

Marc Rowan, Apollo’s incoming CEO, pocketed at least US$92.6 million, comprising US$72.3 million in dividends and US$20.3 million in distributions from his fund investments. Rowan’s compensation as an Apollo co-founder and senior managing director was not reported. He is estimated by Forbes to be worth US$3.9 billion.

KKR & Co Inc co-founders and co-Chief Executives Henry Kravis and George Roberts collected at least US$81.3 million and US$85.4 million respectively, primarily from their holdings in the firm, a regulatory filing showed.

Kravis, 77, received US$42 million in compensation and US$39.3 million in dividends from his KKR shares, while Roberts, also 77, took home US$42 million in compensation and US$85.4 million in dividends from his KKR shares. They have volunteered to forego their US$300,000 base salary since the second quarter of 2020 “following the spread of COVID-19 in the United States,” KKR said.

Kravis is worth US$7.2 billion and his cousin, Roberts, is worth US$7.4 billion, according to Forbes.

Washington, D.C-based Carlyle Group Inc has not yet filed regulatory reports containing information on the compensation and dividends of its chief executive, Kewsong Lee, and its founders David Rubenstein, William Conway and Daniel D’Aniello.