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Schwarzman’s shocking subprime analogy
Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman has had more than his share of negative PR in the last year, with a lavish lifestyle that served as a lightning rod for criticism of the private equity industry. Which makes the following quote, uttered by Schwarzman at an investor meeting in Florida last week, even harder to understand.
Talking about the plight of subprime lenders, he said:
“[It's like] being a noodle salesman in Nagasaki when they dropped the A-bomb – not a lot of noodles left, and not a lot of people either.”
As Dan Primack of Thomson Reuters’ PE Hub observes: “Yeesh, foot meet mouth.”
Private Equity Insider, which first reported the statement, suggested that it could cause trouble for Blackstone in Japan, where the firm has had an office since last year. A Blackstone spokesman declined to comment when contacted by Primack.
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