Nearly eight out of 10 Americans think President Biden is too old to serve another term, including 69 percent of Democrats. This is why St...
Nearly eight out of 10 Americans think President Biden is too old to serve another term, including 69 percent of Democrats. This is why Steve Schwarzman, a 76-year-old prominent Republican donor, believes that the 2024 elections might introduce a surprise element.
"Apparently, the public is not that interested in really older people," Schwarzman said in a recent Bloomberg Television interview. "When you have that kind of situation, usually something else happens."
Schwarzman, the chief executive officer of Blackstone Inc., drew a parallel with the 2016 presidential race when Donald Trump unexpectedly secured victory despite not being the frontrunner initially.
The Blackstone CEO has been exploring alternatives to Trump for the upcoming elections. He has supported South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and temporarily withheld contributions to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to reports.
When questioned about the possibility of a new generation of political leaders emerging in the U.S., Schwarzman mentioned that unforeseen figures often rise to prominence in politics, referencing Barack Obama's ascent in 2008.
"All the straight-line predictions of what's gonna happen – I sort of just sit back and say I've seen a lot of volatility in my life," he said.
During the nationwide poll conducted Aug. 10-14 using the AmeriSpeak Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago, 77 percent of the respondents think Biden is too old to effectively serve as president.
Although Trump is only three years younger than Biden, only about half of the adults agree that he is too old to effectively serve another term.
In the same poll, two-thirds of Americans support setting age limits for the president, members of Congress and Supreme Court justices.
The survey found that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to favor age limits for presidents and Supreme Court justices. However, the same shares of both Democrats and Republicans favor age limits on members of Congress.
Schwarzman talks about inflation in Europe and real estate crisis in China
Schwarzman, who owns approximately 20 percent of Blackstone shares, notably earned around $1 billion in dividends and $253.1 million in compensation in 2022. This income primarily came from incentive fees and carried interest from fund profits.
During the television interview, the Blackstone CEO also talked about Europe and China.
He emphasized that inflation remains high in Europe, and rising interest rates are dampening economic growth. Schwarzman predicted subdued performance in Europe over the next year, highlighting France as the standout performer following Brexit.
"It's a reasonable expectation for Europe over the next year to have muted performance. France is doing the best in the region, having been the biggest beneficiary of Brexit," he said.
Regarding China's ongoing real estate crisis, Schwarzman noted that many, including the Chinese themselves, are adopting a "wait and see" approach.
He believes that China would eventually make necessary adjustments and return to growth, though the short-term outlook may be challenging.
With Blackstone's assets under management surpassing $1 trillion in July, the firm has become the world's largest private equity company, investing in diverse sectors. Additionally, Blackstone recently joined the S&P 500 Index, marking it as the first alternative asset manager to achieve this milestone after S&P Dow Jones removed a 2017 rule preventing companies with multiple share classes from index inclusion.
Schwarzman expressed satisfaction with this development, highlighting the strategic effort invested in achieving this status.
No comments