Blackstone Announces Commitment to 2,000 Refugee Hires Across Global Portfolio Companies and Real Estate Properties
Blackstone joins Tent’s Partnership for Refugees, a non-profit network of companies dedicated to supporting refugees worldwide; commits to the hiring of 1,500 refugees in the U.S. alone
Partnership builds on Blackstone’s Veterans Hiring Initiative, through which more than 100,000 U.S. veterans, veteran spouses and caregivers have been hired across its portfolio
Announcement follows nearly 500 refugees hired across Blackstone portfolio companies to-date and the firm’s participation in the Welcome.US CEO Council, a private sector effort to support Afghan and Ukrainian refugees
NEW YORK, September 22, 2022 /3BL Media/ – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) announced a commitment to 2,000 refugee hires across its global portfolio companies and at its real estate properties, including 1,500 refugees in the United States alone, by the end of 2025. As part of the announcement, Blackstone is joining Tent, a non-profit network of major companies committed to supporting refugees worldwide. To date, Blackstone’s portfolio companies and real estate properties have hired nearly 500 refugees from around the world, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, El Salvador and Guatemala. Additionally, Blackstone has joined the Welcome.US CEO Council, an effort to accelerate and scale private sector support for refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
With more than 250 portfolio companies and over 12,000 real estate assets, Blackstone has used the power of its scale to develop its Veterans Hiring Initiative, through which more than 100,000 U.S. veterans, veteran spouses and caregivers have been hired across its portfolio. Blackstone believes this new partnership with Tent will have a positive impact on the lives of people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. Blackstone will continue to partner with its portfolio companies, third-party property managers and joint venture partners to support refugee hiring efforts.
Blackstone intends to work with organizations that specialize in refugee resettlement, including Tent as well as national and local resettlement agencies, to ensure that all those participating in the refugee hiring efforts have the tools and resources necessary to hire, promote and train these new employees.
“At Blackstone, we believe diverse teams make stronger companies. Our unique platform has already supported nearly 500 jobs for refugees globally, bringing valuable talent into our portfolio’s workforces. We are proud to announce this commitment and will work hand in hand with on-the-ground teams at our portfolio companies and properties,” said Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“Blackstone’s advantage lies in our deeply integrated approach to building resilient companies and properties, and doing so at scale,” said Kathleen McCarthy, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate and Welcome.US CEO Council Member. “Today’s commitment to 2,000 refugee hires across our portfolio reflects tremendous focus on this effort from our team and allows our portfolio companies and real estate properties to welcome a powerful spectrum of backgrounds, identities and experiences.”
“The American business community is showing incredible leadership, and I am so proud of the companies standing up for refugees today,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani and founder of Tent. “These companies will benefit from welcoming these hard-working, loyal, and resilient individuals – but my hope is that this is only the beginning. As refugee crises start to fade from the headlines, I hope that companies will recognize that hiring refugees is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do.”
Blackstone’s refugee and veterans hiring initiatives are part of the firm’s broader portfolio hiring initiatives. Blackstone’s signature program, Career Pathways™, was designed to foster economic mobility and support ongoing diversity efforts at Blackstone portfolio companies. The program’s goal is to work from the ground up to remove legacy barriers to hiring and increase employment opportunities and career mobility for people from diverse and historically under-represented communities. Implementing programs to enable the recruitment and development of these individuals builds rewarding careers for them and broader, more resilient talent pools for companies around the world.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $941 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
About the Tent Partnership for Refugees
With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of more than 36 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Founded by Chobani’s founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, we are a network of over 260 major companies committed to including refugees. Tent believes that companies can most sustainably support refugees by leveraging their core business operations – by engaging refugees as potential employees, entrepreneurs and consumers. The full list of Tent members can be found here. Find out more at www.tent.org.
Contacts
Emilie Stanton
Emilie.Stanton@blackstone.com
(347) 331-9196
Jillian Kary
Jillian.kary@blackstone.com
(212) 583-5379
