In New York City, it's the rare billionaire who earns a reputation for unseemly excess. But private-equity billionaire Steve Schwarzman has earned that distinction—and not for putting his name on the main branch of the New York Public Library. After he hosted a 60th birthday party at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, the New Yorker published a piece titled "The Birthday Party: How Stephen Schwarzman became private equity's designated villain."
At the 2007 party, which reportedly cost between $3 and $5 million, 500 guests, including Donald and Melania Trump, were treated to performances by Rod Stewart and Patti Labelle in a replica of Schwarzman's apartment. The event "garnered Schwarzman considerable grief, as many began to view the party as the beginning of the end of Wall Street's gilded age," the New York Post reported.
"Obviously, I wouldn't have wanted to do that and become, you know, some kind of symbol of sorts of that period of time," he said afterward. "Who would ever wish that on themselves? No one."
But times have changed. The stock market recently reached record highs, and it looks as if Schwarzman hosted another big bash for his 70th last night.
The Blackstone co-founder and his wife, Christine, hosted about 600 guests at their 15,000-plus square-foot estate in Palm Beach, which is only about a mile-and-a-half from Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's private club, which he's taken to calling the "winter White House."
Schwarzman and Trump are friends, and in December the billionaire was appointed head of the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, a panel that advises the White House on economic issues. He also flew to Florida last weekend on Air Force One after a meeting at the White House.
Saturday night's party reportedly included a private dinner with a "acrobats, Mongolian soldiers and two camels," billionaire attendee David Koch told Bloomberg. Invitations to the party "arrived with a video hinting that the theme will be an exotic journey: An old-fashioned boat crosses animated illustrations of Venice, Arabia and Mongolia, and then arrives at Schwarzman's Mediterranean-style Palm Beach estate," an invitee said. Gwen Stefani and Jersey Boys stars performed, and a massive fireworks display took place on the Intracoastal Waterway.
While the president and first lady were reportedly planning to attend, they remained at Mar-a-Lago, where they're hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akke Abe this weekend. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were photographed leaving Mar-a-Lago in black tie, reportedly en route to Schwarzman's party. Presumptive incoming Trump cabinet members Steve Mnuchin, Wilbur Ross, and Elaine Chao also attended, along with luminaries like Donatella Versace, Jean Pigozzi, and former Viacom chair Philippe Dauman.
"You walked into what used to be the tennis court, and there was a balcony with trapeze artists," art dealer Larry Gagosian told Bloomberg of the party, which was produced by Van Wyck & Van Wyck. "The level of detail and creativity, it was extraordinary. Steve loves parties."
A group of about a dozen people planning to protest the party could not get close enough to do so. A bus painted with a man doing yoga and flowers that the the protestors planned to drive past Four Winds was stopped at a security checkpoint, according to the Palm Beach Daily News, and the group dispersed shortly after 7 p.m.
Sam Dangremond is a Contributing Digital Editor at Town & Country, where he covers men's style, cocktails, travel, and the social scene.
