Key Takeaways
- • Blackstone opened a private wealth office in Dubai, its first outside Zurich, hosting more than 100 high-net-worth individuals and family office representatives at the Waldorf Astoria in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
- • Blackstone's private wealth unit manages $330 billion, roughly a quarter of the firm's $1.4 trillion in total assets under management, according to the supplemental reporting.
- • Family offices based in the DIFC alone oversee more than $1 trillion in assets, the market Blackstone is targeting as institutional fundraising slows.
- • Executives Farhad Karim, Carlos Whitaker and Greg Blank pitched private credit and infrastructure products, including BCRED and BXINFRA.
- • Blackstone has completed UAE transactions including an aircraft-leasing venture, a $250 million payments infrastructure commitment in Abu Dhabi, and a role in a $16 billion Kuwait oil-export pipeline partnership.
Summary
Blackstone Inc. has opened a dedicated private wealth office in Dubai, its first outside Zurich, marking the occasion with a gathering of more than 100 high-net-worth individuals and family office representatives at the Waldorf Astoria in the Dubai International Financial Centre, according to people familiar with the matter as reported in the available coverage.
The New York-based alternative asset manager used the event to pitch private credit and infrastructure products. Speakers included Farhad Karim, chief operating officer of Blackstone Private Wealth; Carlos Whitaker, president of BCRED, the firm's flagship private credit fund for individual investors; and Greg Blank, chief executive of BXINFRA, its infrastructure vehicle aimed at retail investors. Blackstone President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said in an emailed statement that the UAE "has built an extraordinary position as a global finance and investment hub and is becoming an increasingly important center for wealth management." Karim described the shift as "structural rather than cyclical."
The move targets a large pool of capital. Family offices based in the DIFC alone oversee more than $1 trillion in assets, and Blackstone's private wealth unit manages $330 billion of the firm's $1.4 trillion in total assets under management. The expansion reflects a broader industry pivot, as institutional fundraising slows and private capital managers increasingly court wealthy individuals and family offices.
Blackstone has also been active in dealmaking across the Gulf. According to the coverage, the firm completed an aircraft-leasing venture with a Dubai-based partner, committed $250 million to a payments infrastructure platform in Abu Dhabi, and joined a $16 billion infrastructure partnership involving Kuwait's oil-export pipelines, described as the largest foreign direct investment in the country's history. Its Abu Dhabi office, already its largest in the region, is being expanded.
The push comes as private credit managers broadly face redemption pressure from investors concerned about software-company exposure and credit quality, conditions Blackstone is also navigating. Competitors JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and HSBC are building wealth management operations in the Middle East as well. The coverage notes that the firm's ability to convert the Dubai gathering into regional commitments will be an early test of whether its private wealth model travels beyond the US and Europe.
The New York-based alternative asset manager used the event to pitch private credit and infrastructure products. Speakers included Farhad Karim, chief operating officer of Blackstone Private Wealth; Carlos Whitaker, president of BCRED, the firm's flagship private credit fund for individual investors; and Greg Blank, chief executive of BXINFRA, its infrastructure vehicle aimed at retail investors. Blackstone President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said in an emailed statement that the UAE "has built an extraordinary position as a global finance and investment hub and is becoming an increasingly important center for wealth management." Karim described the shift as "structural rather than cyclical."
The move targets a large pool of capital. Family offices based in the DIFC alone oversee more than $1 trillion in assets, and Blackstone's private wealth unit manages $330 billion of the firm's $1.4 trillion in total assets under management. The expansion reflects a broader industry pivot, as institutional fundraising slows and private capital managers increasingly court wealthy individuals and family offices.
Blackstone has also been active in dealmaking across the Gulf. According to the coverage, the firm completed an aircraft-leasing venture with a Dubai-based partner, committed $250 million to a payments infrastructure platform in Abu Dhabi, and joined a $16 billion infrastructure partnership involving Kuwait's oil-export pipelines, described as the largest foreign direct investment in the country's history. Its Abu Dhabi office, already its largest in the region, is being expanded.
The push comes as private credit managers broadly face redemption pressure from investors concerned about software-company exposure and credit quality, conditions Blackstone is also navigating. Competitors JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and HSBC are building wealth management operations in the Middle East as well. The coverage notes that the firm's ability to convert the Dubai gathering into regional commitments will be an early test of whether its private wealth model travels beyond the US and Europe.
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