Meet billionaire Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman’s wife of nearly 30 years, Christine Schwarzman: from Long Island to New York’s elite, the intellectual property lawyer was once married to a Hearst heir
From her career in law to supporting her billionaire husband’s philanthropy, Christine is not your typical Wall Street wife – the pair got married in 1995 followed by a celebration at the Frick Museum
Most people may not have heard of the name Christine Schwarzman, but they likely know her husband, Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of Blackstone.
Initially a banker at Lehman Brothers, Stephen left his job in 1985 to co-found Blackstone with his boss and former US secretary of commerce, Peter Peterson. It has since grown to become the world’s largest buyout firm, and has over US$1 trillion in assets today.
Schwarzman has amassed a fortune of US$53 billion, per Forbes, along with a type of influence across industries that has made him both untouchable and, at times, controversial. But while the world may have plenty of feelings and thoughts about Schwarzman, it was his wife Christine who has stood by his side.
She grew up in Long Island
Born in 1953, Christine B. Lalonde grew up in Hicksville, Long Island, just an hour outside New York City. According to The New York Times, her father, a New York City Fire Department lieutenant, had founded Electritek Industries, a local distributor of appliance parts. After high school, Lalonde stayed in Long Island to attend Hofstra University, and later earned her law degree from New York University.
She was married to a Hearst heir
Per the same source, Lalonde went on to become the vice-president of sales and marketing for Reeves Teletape, a division of the Reeves Communication Corporation. She also served as director for the Video Tape Producers Association.