Jonathan D Gray

Early life

Born in Highland Park, Illinois. His father owned a small auto parts manufacturer on the West Side of Chicago (coincidentally named Blackstone Manufacturing); his mother ran a catering business. His parents divorced when he was young. In 1992, Gray graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) magna cum laude with a B.A. in English from the School of Arts & Sciences and a B.S. from the Wharton School. He was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Career

In 1992, Gray joined Blackstone's mergers and acquisitions and private equity group, and was offered a position in the company’s newly formed real estate private equity group shortly thereafter. He was made co-head of the real estate group in 2005 and named global head of real estate in 2011.

Today, Blackstone’s real estate business is the largest opportunistic real estate investment manager in the world with $102 billion of investor capital under management, which includes a $16 billion global real estate fund and a $7 billion European fund.

As global head of real estate, Gray oversees a diverse portfolio including hotel, office, retail, industrial, and residential properties in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Major holdings include Hilton Worldwide, Equity Office Properties, Invitation Homes, Logicor, and the leading owner of office space in India. Gray currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Hilton Worldwide, which went public in December 2013. Blackstone's investment in Hilton was profiled in a September 2014 Bloomberg Businessweek cover story. Gray was named in Fortune’s “40 under 40,” in 2009. In 2016, he ranked #1 on Commercial Observer’s “Power 100” ranking of the most powerful people in New York City real estate.

In 2008, Gray led the firm’s efforts in establishing Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS), provider of high yield debt capital. In 2013, BREDS launched Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT) to provide first mortgage debt capital to real estate borrowers.

In November 2016, it was reported that Gray was under consideration as Treasury Secretary for the incoming presidential administration of Donald Trump.

Philanthropy

Gray serves on the board of The Trinity School, as well as on the board of Harlem Village Academies, a group of charter schools in New York City. Gray recently donated $10 million to purchase a building in northern Manhattan which will serve as the organization’s second elementary school.

In May 2012, Gray and his wife, Mindy Gray, founded the Basser Research Center, named in honor of Mindy’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44. The Grays donated $25 million to create the Basser Research Center, which focuses on cancer prevention, treatment, and research of BRCA-related, genetically-inherited cancers. This donation also established the Basser Global Prize, honoring cutting-edge cancer research. In January 2014, the Basser Research Center announced an additional $5 million gift from the couple to fund an external research grant program. Town & Country (magazine) noted this work in its "Top Philanthropists of 2016" feature, in which the Grays were included.

In November 2016, The New York Times reported on a $10 million donation from the Grays to finance a pilot program that creates college savings accounts for thousands of New York City public school kindergartners.

Personal life

In 1995, Gray married Mindy Basser at Temple Beth Zion Israel in Philadelphia. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and their four daughters. In August 2013, Bloomberg estimated his net worth at just over $1.0 billion due to his owning 40.6 million Blackstone shares valued at $913 million combined with over $120 million in bonuses and salary.

In 2016, Gray was named to Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" list.