You might recall that, a decade ago, Mr. Schwarzman’s 60th birthday party — reportedly for some $5 million at the Park Avenue
Armory in Manhattan — spun into a yearslong existential crisis on Wall Street about the evils of conspicuous consumption.
But even a generous tally of all the most lavish components couldn’t get you anywhere within shouting distance of $20 million: Even if, theoretically, Gwen Stefani had charged the $1 million
that Rod Stewart was said to have charged at Mr. Schwarzman’s 60th (and she didn’t; the figure was substantially lower), it would take 20 of her to get to that price tag.
Mr. Trump’s election and the nominations of his cabinet of billionaires may draw ire from his critics,
but the people who elected him — who draw largely from the middle and lower classes — appear nonplused by his, and other people’s, showy displays of wealth.
A Billionaire’s Party Is a Lens on Wealth in the Trump Era -
So, Stephen A. Schwarzman had another birthday party.
Indeed, Mr. Trump’s surprise election may speak volumes about how large parts of the country view big
business today, as well as Mr. Trump’s efforts to lower taxes and deregulate parts of Wall Street.
But Mr. Schwarzman is the billionaire co-founder of the Blackstone Group as well as President Trump’s latest BFF as the chairman of the president’s strategic policy forum —
and his last birthday bash turned into a cultural flash point.
It’s a point that many of us in the media — myself included — largely missed.
