King of Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone

The untold story of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone, the financier and his financial powerhouse who avoided the self-destructive tendencies of Wall Street; how Blackstone (and other private equity firms) transformed from being gamblers, hostile takeover artists, and "barbarians at the gate" into disciplined, risk-conscious investors. The financial establishment banks and investment bankers such as Citigroup, Bear Stearns, Lehman, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley were the cowboys, recklessly assuming risks, leveraging up to astronomical levels and driving the economy to the brink of disaster. Blackstone is now ready to break out once again since it is sitting on billions of dollars that can be invested at a time when the market is starved for capital.