Jonathan D. Gray
Jonathan D. Gray is an American billionaire and the president and chief operating officer of Blackstone Group, a New York-based asset management firm. He also serves as chairman of Hilton Worldwide.
Early life
Born in Highland Park, Illinois. His father Allen Gray was an investment adviser and owned a small auto parts manufacturer on the West Side of Chicago ; his mother Susan, remarried to his stepfather James Florsheim, ran a catering business. His parents divorced when he was young. In 1992, Gray graduated from the University of Pennsylvania magna cum laude with a B.A. in English from the School of Arts & Sciences and a B.S. from the Wharton School. He was elected Phi Beta Kappa.Career
In 1992, Gray joined Blackstone's mergers and acquisitions and private equity group, 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.Today, Blackstone's real estate business is the largest opportunistic real estate investment manager in the world with $111 billion of investor capital under management, which includes a $16 billion global real estate fund and a $9 billion European fund.
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. 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. Gray was named in Fortune's "40 under 40," 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.
In 2008, Gray led the firm's efforts in establishing Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, provider of high yield debt capital. In 2013, BREDS launched Blackstone Mortgage Trust to provide first mortgage debt capital to real estate borrowers.
In November 2016, it was reported that Gray was under consideration as Treasury Secretary for the incoming presidential administration of Donald Trump.
In February 2018, it was announced that Gray would become president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, replacing Hamilton "Tony" James.
Controversies
Blackstone and Coronavirus
In March 2020, Blackstone--the world’s largest private equity firm--passed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to become the second most valuable firm on Wall Street behind BlackRock; Forbes explained that investors likely believed Blackstone was in a “better position to capitalize on the tumult” of coronavirus. In December 2019, Schwarzman bragged about Blackstone’s ability to profit amid global economic collapse: “Since the financial crash almost all financial institutions shrunk—we grew six times.” In April, Schwarzman said Blackstone would be “looking aggressively” to take advantage of investment opportunities that arose from the current economic crisis.In March 2020, Blackstone bought the rapidly-growing health insurance administration software company HealthEdge. The following April, at the height of the coronavirus epidemic, Blackstone bought the medical staffing company TeamHealth and cut the hours of many emergency room staff.
Gray and Blackstone have a big stake in the government’s administration of hotel and casino industry bailouts. Gray led Blackstone’s purchase of Hilton in 2007, and is now Chairman of the Board of Hilton Worldwide. Blackstone has invested billions in the Las Vegas casino industry, recently buying large stakes in three of MGM’s signature resorts.
In late March, Crain’s reported that the shadow banking industry was “pushing hard” for federal help dealing with the economic impact of coronavirus. After Dodd-Frank tightened restrictions on big banks, shadow banks--such as Blackstone--moved quickly to expand the risky behaviors no longer permitted in certain financial institutions. The shadow banking industry has seen an estimated 75% increase between 2010 and 2019. Trump has shown a clear affinity for the industry; his Treasury Department produced an official report urging regulators to stop using the term “shadow banking” and instead use the term “market-based finance.” The push echoed former Blackstone president Tony James’ assertion that “shadow banking really is just market-based finance.”
Gray and other Blackstone Executives profited from 2008 Foreclosure Crisis
After the 2008 financial crisis, Gray built a company through Blackstone called Invitation Homes to buy foreclosed single-family houses and turn them into rentals. Gray went on the “biggest home buying spree in history” after the foreclosure crisis, spending $10 billion in the company’s first four years. Invitation Homes, with help from the federal government, became the largest single-family home rental company in the country. Blackstone prioritized buying homes in good school districts expecting that renters would “more readily accept rent hikes to avoid moving.” Gray caused damaging structural change to the housing market with the large-scale flipping of single-family homes into rentals--effectively preventing millions of families’ chance to build wealth after the financial crisis and significantly decreasing the stock of affordable housing in the United States. The Danish Housing Minister called for the need for tighter regulations on Blackstone after the firm saw “an opportunity to push people out of their homes to get fast returns.” Elizabeth Warren has criticized Blackstone for shamelessly profiting from the 2008 housing crisis. Blackstone sold the last of its Invitation stake in late 2019 for a total reward of about $7 billion.The United Nations condemn Gray's Housing Project and Blackstone's Lobbying Efforts
Last year, a United Nations report found that Blackstone’s massive purchasing of single-family homes after the financial collapse had “devastating consequences.” In addition to reshaping the housing market to benefit Wall Street over working people, Blackstone abused tenants with exorbitant fees, rent hikes, and aggressive eviction practices. Blackstone’s real estate practice had a disproportionate impact on communities of color, in part because the company targeted foreclosures resulting from subprime loans. Blackstone also contributed to widespread displacement from gentrification; the firm bought property in low-income neighborhoods, refurbished units, and exorbitantly increased rent.The report also slammed Blackstone for “using its significant resources and political leverage to undermine domestic laws and policies that would in fact improve access to adequate Housing.” Blackstone spent at least $6.2 million to defeat California’s Proposition 10, which would have allowed cities to enact rent control. Blackstone is also a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, which spends millions on lobbying and political donations every year.
Blackstone's Future: Gray Sees "Big White Spaces" For Involvement In Insurance, Infrastructure, Retail, and Data
In a 2018 interview about his recent promotion to President and COO of Blackstone, Gray explained that he saw “big white spaces” for future Blackstone involvement in the realms of insurance, infrastructure, retail, and data usage.Trump and Gray
In 2016, Trump discussed appointing Gray to be his Treasury Secretary. While Gray withdrew his name from consideration, Blackstone has maintained close ties to the Trump administration. Blackstone founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman is a close ally of Donald Trump and major Republican donor. When Blackstone restructured after Trump’s tax overhaul, Schwarzman’s net worth increased by nearly $6 billion in the first nine months.Philanthropy
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.Gray serves on the board of The Trinity School, as well as on the board of Harlem Village Academies, 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.
In May 2012, Gray and his wife, Mindy Gray, founded the Basser Research Center, 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. This donation also established the Basser Global Prize, 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. Town & Country noted this work in its "Top Philanthropists of 2016" feature, in which the Grays were included.
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. 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.
Personal life
In 1995, Gray married Mindy Basser at Temple Beth Zion Israel in Philadelphia; the ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Ira F. Stone. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and their four daughters, Margo, Emma, Stella, and Tess. 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.In 2016, Gray was named to Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" list.