Blackstone is one of the big players – along with Carlyle and KKR – that have pushed harder into the private wealth channel in the pursuit of a new source of capital.

Blackstone, which, among other areas, deals in alternative investments such as private equity, said momentum in growth of its private wealth channel rose sharply last year.

The US-listed group, which, like its peers KKR and Carlyle, has built out wealth channels to tap HNW and UHNW demand for its services, said $28 billion was raised via its wealth arm in 2024, including $23 billion for the perpetual vehicles – nearly double what was raised from individuals in those strategies in 2023. (Perpetual vehicles are sometimes known as evergreen structures – open-ended funds that unlike most private market funds, don’t have a fixed exit point or require capital calls.)

Across the Blackstone group as a whole, net income for 2024 was $5.437 billion, rising sharply from $2.444 billion a year before. Total expenses rose to $6.819 billion from $4.981 billion, but revenues last year offset this effect significantly, rising to $13.23 billion from $.02 billion, it said in a statement last week. 

“Blackstone reported one of the best quarters in our history. Earnings growth accelerated sharply, while the key drivers of our business – inflows, investment activity and realisations – all reached their highest levels in two-and-a-half years,” Stephen A Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive, said.

Within its perpetual vehicle segment, Blackstone said an additional $3.7 billion was raised for Blackstone’s perpetual strategies in January – including $1 billion each from BCRED, BXPE and BXINFRA entities. 

“Blackstone made enormous investment in the private wealth space ahead of competitors and the huge $85 trillion market allows for substantial growth. As macro conditions stabilise and cash flows continue to grow, Blackstone’s perpetual strategies will have the opportunity to grow further,” it said.

After disruptions to fundraising and exits caused by sharply higher interest rates after the pandemic, this publication hears that conditions for private equity and related markets are improving, including the prospect of more initial public offerings. IPOs are important exit routes for privately held firms, and the IPO market has languished in recent years, as have the total of M&A deals. If the US economy, for example, continues to flourish in 2025, this IPO activity should increase, according to Pictet, the Swiss private bank, in a recent briefing for journalists.