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	$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

• Stephen A. Schwarzman
• Harlem Village Academies

Additional reading

• Financial Times, April 2016: Investment strategy: The new property barons
• Wall Street Journal, January 2014: Jonathan Gray Shines in Blackstone’s Succession Plan
• Financial Times, August 2013: Blackstone's Property Star Looks to Build on Real Estate Empire
• Bloomberg TV, June 2013: Gray Says Blackstone Not Driving U.S. Housing
• Bloomberg Markets, April 2013: Putting Down Roots
• Forbes, October 2012: The New King of Real Estate is Armed with $13.3 Billion
• Bloomberg, May 2012: Blackstone’s Gray Gives University of Pennsylvania $25 Million
• New York Times, May 2012: Research Center to Focus on Cancer Genes
• Bloomberg, February 2012: Blackstone’s Gray Joins Board as Real Estate Rises to 71% of Firm’s Profit
• The New York Observer, August 2011: Jonathan Gray. Blackstone’s Real Estate Wizard Behind the Curtain
• CNN Money.com: 40 under 40, Jonathan Gray
• New York Post, February 2007: Gray’s Anatomy

References