Revenues fell in the quarter from a year ago and expenses gained. New York-listed Blackstone said money-raising for its private wealth segment grew. The firm has, like its peers, expanded its private wealth arm in recent years.

Blackstone, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, for example in private equity, has reported net income – attributable to shareholders – of $614.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, down from $847.4 million a year earlier.

Total expenses rose to $1.894 billion from $1.79 billion; revenues also fell to $3.289 billion from $3.687 billion, it said in a statement late last week. 

Assets under management stood at a total of $1.167 trillion at the end of March this year, rising 10 per cent on a year earlier; and fee-earning AuM was $680 billion, also rising 10 per cent, with perpetual capital at $464 billion. The firm logged $61.6 billion in the quarter.

In the private wealth channel – a growing area for Blackstone, as it is for rivals such as KKR – Blackstone said it raised $11 billion in Q1 2025, rising about 40 per cent year-over-year – to its highest level in nearly three years. Total assets under management in the private wealth channel now comprise over $270 billion, representing about a quarter of total assets.

Blackstone is increasingly catering to private wealth clients, such as private banks and family offices, seeing them as important end investors. Historically, such investors have only allocated low single-digit percentages to private equity, venture capital and private credit. However, a long period of low interest rates and mild yields on listed equities and bonds has encouraged wealth clients to look at non-listed markets. Also, there has been a secular shift from listed to unquoted investments over the past two decades, increasing sources of supply. 

Turbulent
“Blackstone reported another quarter of strong results despite turbulent markets. Inflows reached $62 billion – the highest level in nearly three years –reflecting the deep trust we’ve built with our investors over decades,” Stephen A Schwarzman, chairman and CEO, said. “We also delivered positive investment performance across all of our major strategies. We are well positioned to navigate the current environment with $177 billion of dry powder to deploy and a resilient, capital-light business model.” 

Detailing its undrawn capital – aka “dry powder” of $177.2 billion at the end of the quarter – Blackstone said the largest slice of this was in private equity, at $71.5 billion. (Analysts keep a close eye on dry powder as an indication of how difficult or easy it is for such investment houses to deploy capital. With listed equities and bond markets roiled by the US tariffs, it may be that dry powder amounts stay elevated until markets become calmer.)

The firm said that $5.2 billion of capital was deployed in Q1 2025, including the take-private of Retail Opportunity Investments and an additional investment in The Arch Company, and $25.7 billion over the last 12 months. A total of $4.3 billion of investments was realized in the quarter, translating into $22.6 billion over the 12 months to end March 2025.

Blackstone said $1.2 billion is to be distributed to shareholders with respect to the first quarter and $5.7 billion over the 12 months to end March through dividends and share repurchases.