Blackstone Plans $500 Billion Europe Investment, CEO Says

Blackstone Inc. is planning to invest as much as $500 billion in Europe over the next 10 years, underlining the continent’s growing appeal to investors during a period of geopolitical flux.

“We see it as a major opportunity for us,” Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Tuesday. “They are starting to change their approach here, which we think will result in higher growth rates. So this has worked out amazingly well for us.”

Schwarzman’s comments, which mark the 25th anniversary of the alternative asset manager’s operations in London, are the latest sign of investment firms touting the attractiveness of Europe. At last week’s SuperReturn International conference in Berlin, executives from behemoths such as BC Partners, Permira and Brookfield Asset Management talked up the case for Europe as an investment destination as global economic risks mount.

When Blackstone opened its London office in 2000, the firm’s only other office was in New York, according to a statement at the time. Then, it had raised more than $13 billion for discretionary investment funds focused on alternative asset classes.

Today, it is the world’s largest alternative asset manager, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management and offices in 27 cities around the world, according to its website. It is the largest fund manager in European real estate, according to industry group INREV. A bet on the continent’s urban warehouses is one of Blackstone’s largest and most profitable investments ever.