Blackstone chief executive Steve Schwarzman took home US$896.7 million in pay and dividends last year, a 29 per cent decline from his record take in 2022, according to a regulatory filing on Friday (Feb 23).

Schwarzman reaped over US$1.26 billion in pay and dividends for 2022, including more than US$1 billion in dividends from his shares of Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm.

For 2023, dividend payouts accounted for US$777 million of Schwarzman’s total. He also received US$119.8 million in compensation, down 53 per cent from the US$253.1 million he received in 2022, according to the filing.

Schwarzman owns about 231.9 million shares of Blackstone, and the company paid an annual dividend of US$3.35 per share, the filing showed.

Blackstone did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Last month, Blackstone reported a 4 per cent rise in its fourth-quarter distributable earnings, as it cashed out on more of its assets across real estate, credit, and hedge funds.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Distributable earnings, which represent cash used to pay dividends to shareholders, rose to nearly US$1.4 billion in the three months to Dec 31, up from US$1.3 billion a year earlier. RUETERS