Remember?

Remember the Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trust (BREIT) that got a $4.5 billion bailout investment from UC's pension and endowment funds when it was experiencing a slow-motion run on the bank? In exchange for its investment, UC was supposed to receive a super-normal return for taking on the risk. We noted in an earlier posting that it is unclear if UC is actually receiving this return or whether it is being put on a tab owed to UC.*

The year 2024 was not especially kind to BREIT:

Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust's returns reached 1.95% in 2024. It’s the second year that Blackstone’s managers failed to reach the 5% return floor required for the firm to reap profits. 

The investment giant acknowledged headwinds in the real estate sector impacted the fund’s performance but said that a market rebound was already beginning to manifest. 

“While the sharp increase in base rates impacted fourth quarter performance, we see substantial data indicating we are in the early stages of a real estate recovery supported by healing capital markets and collapsing new construction in our key sectors,” a Blackstone spokesperson said in a statement...

Full story at https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/capital-markets/breit-grew-by-less-than-2-last-year-blackstone-says-2025-will-be-better-127598. 

Although BREIT isn't doing all that well, apparently its parent and its parent's CEO isn't hurting:

Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman collected just over $1 billion in pay and dividends in 2024, putting the spotlight on the billionaire’s wealth just as Washington takes aim at how private equity profits are taxed. Most of Schwarzman’s annual windfall came in dividends, not fund profits. He is the single largest holder of Blackstone stock with a stake of almost 20% in the world’s largest alternative asset manager worth roughly $37 billion...

Full story at https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackstone-schwarzman-takes-home-more-223619198.html.

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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2024/08/well-likely-hear-more-about-this.html.