Key Takeaways
- • Wesley LePatner, 43, Blackstone's global head of Core+ real estate and CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), was among four people killed in a Monday shooting at the firm's Park Avenue offices.
- • Blackstone, a $1.2 trillion asset manager, said its staff was "heartbroken" in a Tuesday statement and described LePatner as "a beloved member of the Blackstone family."
- • Police identified the gunman as 27-year-old Shane Tamura, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on the 33rd floor of 345 Park Avenue. A New York Police Department officer was also killed.
- • LePatner helped launch BREIT in 2017, the firm's largest real estate vehicle for individual investors, and took over its leadership from Frank Cohen earlier this year.
Summary
Wesley LePatner, a senior executive in Blackstone's real estate business, was among those killed on Monday, July 28, 2025, when a gunman entered the firm's offices at 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan. According to Business Insider, LePatner, 43, was the $1.2 trillion firm's global head of Core+ real estate and CEO of BREIT, the company's real estate fund for individual investors. Four people were killed, including a New York Police Department officer. Police identified the gunman as Shane Tamura, 27, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on the 33rd floor of the building, a skyscraper that also houses major financial institutions and the NFL's headquarters.
LePatner attended Horace Mann and Yale University, then spent more than a decade at Goldman Sachs before joining Blackstone in 2014. She joined when its core assets portfolio, which invests in warehouses, office buildings, rental housing and hotels, was a nascent investment category, and she helped launch BREIT in 2017. Blackstone President Jon Gray cited her "tremendous talent" when she was named to lead the vehicle, succeeding Frank Cohen, who stepped down in January. In a 2022 Business Insider profile, she described her unit as "for all intents and purposes, a startup."
Blackstone said in a statement that LePatner "embodied the best of Blackstone" and was "brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond." She chaired the firm's affinity group, the Blackstone Women's Initiative, and had been active in mentorship for women at the firm. Her profile extended beyond Blackstone: she was appointed a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art earlier this year, and Met CEO Max Hollein called her "a brilliant and visionary leader." She also served on the boards of The Abraham Joshua Heschel School and UJA-Federation of New York.
LePatner is survived by her husband, Evan, and their two children. In a statement, the LePatner family described her as "the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and relative."
LePatner attended Horace Mann and Yale University, then spent more than a decade at Goldman Sachs before joining Blackstone in 2014. She joined when its core assets portfolio, which invests in warehouses, office buildings, rental housing and hotels, was a nascent investment category, and she helped launch BREIT in 2017. Blackstone President Jon Gray cited her "tremendous talent" when she was named to lead the vehicle, succeeding Frank Cohen, who stepped down in January. In a 2022 Business Insider profile, she described her unit as "for all intents and purposes, a startup."
Blackstone said in a statement that LePatner "embodied the best of Blackstone" and was "brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond." She chaired the firm's affinity group, the Blackstone Women's Initiative, and had been active in mentorship for women at the firm. Her profile extended beyond Blackstone: she was appointed a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art earlier this year, and Met CEO Max Hollein called her "a brilliant and visionary leader." She also served on the boards of The Abraham Joshua Heschel School and UJA-Federation of New York.
LePatner is survived by her husband, Evan, and their two children. In a statement, the LePatner family described her as "the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and relative."
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