Blackstone and BlackRock Are Getting Into Each Other’s Business

To understand how Steve Schwarzman and Larry Fink, one-time partners who had an ugly breakup two decades ago, today compete for attention among the most pow­erful people in business and finance, con­sider the events of a few days in mid-April.

Schwarzman’s Blackstone Group, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, announced on April 10 that it would pay $14 billion for a portfolio of properties General Electric wanted to shed. The largest real es­tate transaction since the financial crisis, this deal not only cemented Blackstone’s standing as the biggest landlord on the planet. It also underscored how Blackstone’s financial clout and real estate savvy made it the buyer someone like GE’s Jeffrey Immelt would turn to in the midst of a restructuring.