With a $100 million donation, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman has helped launch an ambitious $1 billion renovation project for the venerable New York Public Library. For his generous donation, the world-famous 1911 lion guarded building on Fifth Avenue will be renamed the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (it was formerly named the Beaux Arts). The name change will take place in 2014, after improvements to the building are finished.

Paul LeClerc, president of the library’s board of trustees, says Stephen Schwarzman’s name will be set in stone on both sides of the main entrance at three feet off the ground. The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building will remain a protected landmark under the auspices of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Stephen Schwarzman’s gift is the largest of its kind to the New York Public Library. Stephen Scharzman also happens to be a library trustee and a consistent supporter of the New York Public Library. “This was an absolutely first-class, professional, practical strategic plan, and it deserved to be supported,” Stephen Schwarman said. He envisions the library improvements will make access to information easier for all Americans. “The library helps lower- and middle-income people — immigrants — get their shot at the American dream,” Stephen Schwarzman said.

Stephen Schwarzman says naming the historic building after him was certainly not his idea. “They said, ‘We’d like you to be the lead gift and give us $100 million and we’d like to rename the main branch after you,’” he said. Stephen Schwarzman intends to dispense his donation over a few years, and has signed a binding agreement that guarantees the money will be donated. “It binds me and my estate, even if I die,” Stephen Schwarzman said. He agreed to the donation because he was very impressed by the scope and planning of the entire renovation project.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg praised Stephen Schwarzman’s generosity, writing in an email message, “With this donation, Steve is giving back to the city that gave him so much and is helping ensure that New York remains a cultural and intellectual capital of the world.”

The project’s goal will be turning the Central Library into a center for book borrowing as well as research. The new circulating library will have eight levels of stacks below the Main Reading Room, overlooking the Bryant Park through windows. The stacks will be moved to a three-acre storage area beneath the park. New rooms for children and teenagers, along with extensive computer work stations, will be opened in the new space. The building will also house a café and information center just inside the Fifth Avenue entrance, including wireless Internet access throughout the building. In addition, the renovation project will refurbish existing branches and create two new libraries in Upper Manhattan and Staten Island.

The library is raising $1 billion through the sale of some of its buildings and a $500 million capital campaign, which includes Stephen Schwarzman’s grant. The library is also trying to secure government support. The City of New York already pays for half of the library’s operation budget, and has put $30 million towards renovations that are currently under way.

Steve Schwarzman is no stranger to large scale philanthropy. In addition to serving on the Board of Trustees for the New York Public Library, Steve Schwarzman is the board chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington and a trustee of the Frick Collection, the New York City Ballet, the Asia Society and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Article Source: A $100 Million Donation to the N.Y. Public Library (New York Times)

In an article from The New York Times titled “Stephen Schwarzman’s Seven-Step Program” describes how Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of the Blackstone Group, has designed seven principles that he believes would serve as effective guides for legislators in establishing financial system regulations.

For principles 1 and 2, Stephen Schwarzman outlines a call for “common accounting principles” across national boundaries and comparable regulatory structures in major global markets. His third principle is a call for absolute transparency for financial statements, stressing that nothing should be canceled out, while his fourth principle calls for “full disclosure of all financial instruments,” putting emphasis on the need of a regulator who will monitor all derivatives.

Stephen Schwarzman’s fifth principle is the call for regulation of all financial institutions, particularly bringing up hedge funds, which he considers as “major categories of borrowers.” For Principle 6, Stephen Schwarzman states that new accounting rules have brought trouble to financial firms, putting the pressure of writing down their asset values to “artificial, fire-sale prices.”

Finally, Schwarzman’s last principle is a call for a system of regulation that, instead of complex rules, is based on guiding principles joined with strong disclosure and supervision.

Stephen Schwarzman is an American businessman and investor listed by Forbes as one of “The 400 Richest Americans” of 2008. Stephen Schwarzman is the Chairman and Co-founder of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity, investment management, and financial advisory firm headquartered in New York City. He started his career at the investment bank Lehman Brothers. He rose from the ranks when he was elected Managing Director in 1978 and soon led the firm’s global mergers and acquisitions team.

In 1985, Stephen Schwarzman and partner Peter Peterson formed Blackstone with a $400,000 seed capital. Since the firm’s founding in 1985, Stephen Schwarzman has been actively involved in all phases of its development.

Steve Schwarzman also serves as Board Chairman of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and as member on the boards of several nonprofit groups.

Steve Schwarzman graduated with a BA from Yale University and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Article Source: New York Times Dealbook

Steve Schwarzman is a member of the Blackstone Group.

Harbus, the independent student weekly for the Harvard Business School, recently published an interview with Stephen Schwarzman.

Read up on the Bloomberg profile of the Blackstone Group.