Stephen Schwarzman co-founded The Blackstone Group in 1985 with just $400,000 in seed capital, split between him and Pete Peterson. That got them business cards and an empty office on Park Ave. Raising the next billion would be the hardest, a path paved by rejection, even by their best friends. Blackstone’s eventual rise, becoming the largest alternative investment firm in the world, with $545 billion of AUM and a market cap north of $60 billion, is the embodiment of the American dream.

Inside the ICE House: https://www.theice.com/insights/conversations/inside-the-ice-house