Jonathan D. Gray

John Gray
Born (1970-02-04) February 4, 1970
Highland Park, Illinois, U.S.
Education University of Pennsylvania (BA,
BS)
Net worth Increase $1.66 billion (Sept 2015)[1]
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Mindy Basser
Children 4

Jonathan D. "John" Gray (born February 4, 1970) is Global Head of Real Estate and a member of the Board of Directors of Blackstone Group, a New York-based global asset management firm.[2]

Early life

Born in Highland Park, Illinois.[3][4] His father owned a small auto parts manufacturer on the West Side of Chicago (coincidentally named Blackstone Manufacturing); his mother ran a catering business.[5] His parents divorced when he was young.[5] In 1992, Gray graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) magna cum laude with a B.A. in English from the School of Arts & Sciences and a B.S. from the Wharton School.[5] He was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Career

In 1992, Gray joined Blackstone’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity group,[5] and was offered a position in the company’s newly formed Real Estate Private Equity group shortly thereafter. He was made Co-Head of the Real Estate group in 2005 and named Global Head of Real Estate in 2011.

Today, Blackstone’s real estate business is the largest opportunistic real estate investment manager in the world with $101 billion of investor capital under management,[6] which includes a $13.3 billion global real estate fund and a $7 billion European fund.

As Global Head of Real Estate, Gray oversees a diverse portfolio including hotel, office, retail, industrial, and residential properties in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Major holdings include Hilton Worldwide, Equity Office Properties, Brixmor shopping centers, Center Parcs UK, and a stake in Shenzhen-based Chinese shopping mall group SCP Co Ltd. Gray currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Hilton Worldwide, which went public in December 2013. Blackstone's investment in Hilton was profiled in a September 2014 Bloomberg Businessweek cover story.[7] Gray was named in Fortune’s “40 under 40,”[8] in 2009. In 2016, he ranked #1 on Commercial Observer’s “Power 100” ranking of the most powerful people in New York City real estate. [9]

In 2008, Gray led the firm’s efforts in establishing Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS), provider of high yield debt capital. In 2013, BREDS launched Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT) to provide first mortgage debt capital to real estate borrowers.

Philanthropy

Gray serves on the board of The Trinity School, as well as on the Board of Harlem Village Academies,[10] a group of charter schools in New York City. Gray recently donated $10 million to purchase a building in northern Manhattan which will serve as the organization’s second elementary school.

In May 2012, Gray and his wife, Mindy Gray, founded the Basser Research Center,[11] named in honor of Mindy’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44. The Grays donated $25 million to create the Basser Research Center, which focuses on cancer prevention, treatment, and research of BRCA-related, genetically-inherited cancers.[12] This donation also established the Basser Global Prize,[13] honoring cutting-edge cancer research. In January 2014, the Basser Research Center announced an additional $5 million gift from the couple to fund an external research grant program.[14] Town & Country (magazine) noted this work in its "Top Philanthropists of 2016" feature, in which the Grays were included.[15]

Personal life

In 1995, Gray married Mindy Basser at Temple Beth Zion Israel in Philadelphia.[16] He lives in Manhattan with his wife and their four daughters.[5] In August 2013, Bloomberg estimated his net worth at just over $1.0 billion due to his owning 40.6 million Blackstone shares valued at $913 million combined with over $120 million in bonuses and salary.[12]

See also

Additional reading

References

  1. ↑ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Jonathan Gray September 2015
  2. ↑ Our People
  3. ↑ Bloomberg: "Jon Gray Skips Party, Afraid Record Buyout Will Fail" By Hui-yong Yu and Bob Ivry February 14, 2007
  4. ↑ Jewish Business News: "Blackstone Reports Record Year : Jonathan Gray’s Real Estate Group Chips in 60% of the Profits" February 3, 2014
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 New York Observer: "Jonathan Gray, Blackstone’s Real Estate Wizard Behind the Curtain" By Matt Chaban August 17, 2011
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-11/blackstones-hilton-deal-best-leveraged-buyout-ever
  8. ↑ 40 under 40 - Jonathan Gray (7) - FORTUNE
  9. ↑ https://commercialobserver.com/2016/04/power-100-3/#slide1
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Basser Research Center for BRCA | Abramson Cancer Center | Penn Medicine
  12. 1 2 Bloomberg: "Blackstone’s Gray Becomes Billionaire Amid Property Wager" by Gillian Wee August 15, 2013
  13. ↑ The 2013 Basser Global Prize | Bassser Research Center for BRCA |Penn Medicine
  14. ↑ "Penn Medicine's Basser Research Center for BRCA Announces Additional $5 Million Gift from Mindy and Jon Gray to Fund External Research Grant Program". January 13, 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ New York Times: "WEDDINGS; Mindy Basser, Jonathan D. Gray" July 02, 1995
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