In the last 16 years, insiders at Blackstone Inc have sold an estimated . The Mysterious Man Behind - Institutional Investor Were seeing maybe wage increases beginning to decline. To me, this world is normal, not abnormal, with, you know, positive real interest rates. And when I . There was a big consolidation and lots of divestitures of pubs that were owned by brewers in the time, and there were rules came down that brewers can own distributors. And to me, that was a more comfortable form of investing and where I wanted to bet my career. Theres real inflation. RITHOLTZ: Really intriguing. Privacy Policy Atika Valbrun is our project manager. Thats a pretty good run. But, you know, when I moved, you didnt have the single currency in circulation until January of 02. And I know the size, it was 32, 33, 34, $35 billion. And so, were trying to find the businesses that are going to be enabled and benefited by AI, and avoid the things that are going to be dislocated. You know, energy prices are higher. BARATTA: Ive been really fortunate in my life where Ive had, you know, along the way, in the journey, Morgan Stanley, at McCown De Leeuw, at Tinicum which is the Ruttenberg family, where in each of those places, Ive had somebody who really helped me in my career and with whom Im very close even today. And today, the clear direction of travel is toward weaning ourselves or these big economies off of hydrocarbons for power. You have your way. BARATTA: Were not seeing evidence of it in the portfolio. they do. But cable television models or satellite TV, like, those suffered. Commitments from new limited partners, along with significant re-ups from Fund I LPs, attest to "more interest in the concept" today relative to four years ago, Baratta said. That sounds like a fascinating organization. BARATTA: I had agreed to go before September 11th happened. And so, that didnt happen until 2002. We do think, at some level, it does affect the cost structures. But, like, really, our preference is to do it just by ourselves. Inside Blackstone's Plans to Create an Entertainment Empire Please click here if you would like more information about the cookies used on this website and how to change your cookie settings. RITHOLTZ: Yeah. BARATTA: I was watching the 10:00 a.m. game. Joseph Baratta Age : 51 Public asset : 567,113,101 USD Country of residence : Unknown Linked companies : Blackstone Inc. - Merlin Entertainments plc Biography of Joseph Baratta Joseph Patrick Baratta is Director & Head-Global Private Equity at Blackstone, Inc. and on the board of 13 other companies. BARATTA: Yeah, Im 29 when Im asked. RITHOLTZ: We take for granted totally that youre out in a car, you can pull over anywhere and tank up with gas. RITHOLTZ: So its not like the public markets where you could say sell here, buy there, because you have such obvious prints . BARATTA: Its a great building that had a beautiful collection. Our model is not to run the companies. RITHOLTZ: Lets talk a little bit about your career at Blackstone. Disputes over compensation and firings, and potentially over layoffs, could push both sides into fresh legal battles. RITHOLTZ: And so you guys are expanding in the 2000s in Europe. About 10 or 15 years later, we actually did work together, and he acknowledged that moment and said, God, I just thought you guys were just such jokes. It sounds like you can scale up by partnering with lots of other PE firms. So certain elements of technology, particularly in software, we think are much more attractive than they were a couple years ago, not to say they look overwhelmingly cheap, but certainly more attractive than they were. One-on-one with Joe Baratta: Navigating Today's Investment - YouTube BARATTA: where the music is amazing. Where is the most fertile ground for growth size-wise? Matthew Delly on LinkedIn: Areas of thematic investing focus from And then when the Niners got good, I became a contrarian and said, no, Im going to root for the Cowboys . Because people start so early, you have to do so much to get in college. For press inquiries, contact [emailprotected]. Ive been super lucky to have these fun adventures, whether or not with Stanley. So I read a quote of yours that cracked me up, I have to ask you about, you said if you werent working in private equity, the next best job would be general manager of the Dallas Cowboys. And the size of our private equity business is you know, were now on our ninth fund. In London, in September, I had him come to talk about like what it means to be from where you should be deriving your happiness. Joseph Baratta net worth, bio and Blackstone Inc insider trades. BARATTA: And then, of course and now, look, theyre fun to watch. Blackstone CEO Schwarzman took home $610.5 million in 2020 So that is one sector that were investing, and that a decade ago, we wouldnt. its $619 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. RITHOLTZ: Right. What was that like going over to the EU and England during that period? Energy has been a major investment theme across many of our businesses in credit and corporate private equity. Joseph Baratta* Global Head of Private Equity Wayne Berman Global Head of Government Relations David Blitzer Global Head of Tactical Opportunities Martin Brand Head of North America Private Equity and Global Co-Head of Technology Investing Kenneth Caplan Global Co-Head of Real Estate Gilles Dellaert Global Head of Blackstone Insurance Solutions RITHOLTZ: Really quite interesting. In the early days, do whats asked of them, do it as well as they can, and move on to the next step. The big TV companies, such as ViacomCBS and Discovery, were bleeding viewers as people cut the cord to cable television and streaming powerhouses like Netflix grew ever bigger. India is very attractive. Deceptive. RITHOLTZ: Let me ask you about India because it feels like, at least, in the public markets, India is always on like a year or two away from being the next big thing and it just hasnt seemed to happen. But, in general, we became much more risk averse, risk-off in that, you know, mid 2021 period. Of course, I mean, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, you know, the whole Nordic region, Sweden, theyre not . Meet the frontrunner to lead Blackstone in Europe So if your alternative, as a company, is to go public at a given price, youre probably not going to sell it to a private equity firm at a much lower price. BARATTA: looking at the divestiture from Vivendi. That is part of the energy transition. By selecting the relevant option, you certify that it accurately reflects your residency. RITHOLTZ: Is AI investable? RITHOLTZ: Happy to have you. RITHOLTZ: Similar to U.S. antitrust rules . And the way buyouts are being financed is evolving away from syndicated big syndicated capital structures committed to by banks to now the people who are actually going to hold the risk, firms like ours and Apollo and Ares and others, who are actually lending money directly to the people who are borrowing, instead of going through the banking intermediaries. . BARATTA: Yeah. And I was like, geez, okay, well . BARATTA: Well., they definitely did that. We all wanted to get there fast, but I think its entered a new level. Blackstone: long-life private equity funds 'now an asset class' You could consume Saturdays with kids running around. We were looking at taking remember the Vivendi at that time? RITHOLTZ: Renewable meaning wind, solar, nuclear, whatever? And so we partnered with a few local firms and actually one of our U.S. competitors to look at this big asset, because it was quite big. Three things to know about Blackstone's $8bn long-hold strategy You know, to your point, like its hard to turn on a dime and say, sell the whole portfolio. And then we started seeing significant signs in inflation, particularly in our real estate business, with rents going up significantly, wages going up across our private equity portfolio, beginning to see pricing power for many of our companies that they hadnt had in a long time. Mr.Barattajoined Blackstone in 1998 and in 2001 he moved to London to help establish Blackstones corporate private equity business in Europe. In 2006, 07, 08, you saw the financial crisis. Joseph Baratta - Blackstone RITHOLTZ: Thats very interesting because we typically think of private equity as looking at these mature non-public companies. So its been really significant growth. He helped to build out Blackstones PE business in Europe in 2001, moving to London in 2001. RITHOLTZ: Im not being sarcastic. The global head of private equity at Blackstone Inc. spelled out the conundrum he and the entire buyout industry is faced with: Financing is getting. I mean, you know, this is probably 2002. So Im really proud of what they did there, and its a great show. Like, the last $30 billion deal we did, I mean, we bought Medline in 2021. BARATTA: Even more mature companies. And, yes, if Jerry needs some help, you know, he knows who to call. It kind of helped us get off the ground, so to speak. "The current volatile and unpredictable environment reinforces . Overnight on Wall Street is morning in Europe. You go to D.C. You go to New York. RITHOLTZ: So heres the really interesting observation that youre making, Blackstone has boots on the ground in all these different sectors. BARRY RITHOLTZ, HOST, MASTERS IN BUSINESS: This week on the podcast, I have an extra special guest, Joe Baratta is the Global Head of Private Equity at PE giant Blackstone, where he has worked since 1998. BARATTA: Yeah. BARATTA: I go to California all the time. I dont know what they call themselves back then. BARATTA: I think private market valuations are driven to a large degree by whats going on in the public markets. Sean Russo is my researcher. BARATTA: No. Most recently he sold 85,000 units of BX stock worth $7,337,200 on 1 April 2023. My friend and former Morgan Stanley analyst, colleague, Chad Pike, ran our European real estate stuff. If you enjoy this conversation, well, be sure and check out any of the previous 500 or so weve done over the past eight years. The Fed was saying, no, its transitory or whatever adjective they used. In the long run. * * * * * Mr. Baratta has been with Blackstone for 22 years, including ov And so, in the early 90s, analysts had these big investment banks, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, had sort of two or three options, you can stay there and become an investment banker and do that for a career, you could go into the emerging fields of investing in private equity or in hedge funds, or you go to business school, or maybe go to business school later. BARATTA: Yeah. Thats why, as an investor, Im much happier today because were able to buy things more cheaply. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. And the whole firm was maybe 200 total employees , BARATTA: not just investment people, total staff. BARATTA: You know, the book I most recently finished, by Arthur Brooks, a book on happiness. Deadly. And what sort of input do you give to managements there? Receive a summary of the day's top tech newsdistilled into one email. Before joining Blackstone, Mr.Barattawas with Tinicum Incorporated and McCown De Leeuw & Company. But we can, things that are mature, things where weve realized value, sometimes were taking companies public and we can sell stock. BARATTA: And I think they nailed it. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. RITHOLTZ: Hell reach out to Steve, Steve will put you in touch. Big software companies including Microsoft and Salesforce are racing to incorporate the technology behind ChatGPT, known as generative artificial intelligence, into their products to attract new users and boost profits. RITHOLTZ: I dont want to suggest that thats what we hear. This net worth estimate does not reflect any other assets that Mr. Baratta may own. Not to say like we executed on that vision perfectly, I mean, we would have made some mistakes, but we definitely became much more cautious when the bull market really ramped up, in particular, post COVID, when not only did you have the low rates which the Fed double down on, you had this huge transfer payment from the federal government . With no further ado, my discussion of private equity with Blackstones Joe Baratta. He is an entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, and advocate for independent investment advisers, which is a $97 trillion industry. I will learn something, and Ill have something else to do on the other side of it. In the U.K., we own the Savoy Group of Hotels, which is the Connaught and Claridges and Savoy. So I wanted to get a job at a private equity firm. How are you looking at the investment environment today? Joseph Baratta. BARATTA: Yeah. We back them with capital and support, and we let them run the businesses. BARATTA: Yeah. RITHOLTZ: But youre not dealing with startups; youre dealing with . BARATTA: I mean, theres no question that financing costs are higher, both debt and equity, which is a healthy thing because I think the global cost of capital was too low, induced by super low rates and capital allocation to riskier assets, institutional investors chasing return. By submitting this request, you consent to receive email from Blackstone. Sounds like you guys arent aggressively in the, were in a recession or about to have a recession six months. RITHOLTZ: Youre like late 20s at this time? That had to be a giant challenge, especially given what was taking place. Like I said, theres a few fundamental enabling technologies that happen, ubiquitous broadband, internet to your house to your mobile device, which really enabled a change in retail and media models and communication models, and now this. And then the metaverse, you know, almost came and went already, a lot of hype there. I had no language skills. Mr. Baratta joined Blackstone in 1998 and in 2001 he moved to London to help establish Blackstones corporate private equity business in Europe. And so, thats what we were able to do to a large degree, is to become more conservative, to become more cautious on valuations, you know, as we started seeing evidence of inflation, and thinking that rates were probably going to go up at some point. RITHOLTZ: in The Atlantic. I think its really important for people who are workaholics, who are high achievers to put, you know, everything that were doing every day into context and define happiness kind of outside that box. RITHOLTZ: So lets talk about some of those different types of funds. RITHOLTZ: What about geographies? It was more of a cottage industry. But youre looking at valuations and what sort of multiples you want to pay. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here. RITHOLTZ: I was waiting for you to say, and it was 10:00 a.m. and they broke open the bottles of Bordeaux. I dont miss a game. April 15, 2023 10:00am by BARATTA: Patience. But I could have evolved more quickly as an investor, you know, over time, and I continue to learn that lesson. So what is $10 billion dollars . The whole aesthetic of it is amazing. Mr.Barattahas served on the boards of many past Blackstone portfolio companies and currently serves as a member or observer on the boards of Ancestry, Candle Media, First Eagle Investment Management, Medline and Merlin Entertainments Group. Well talk a little bit about your time in London later. So, really, in private equity, our first adventure outside of Western Europe was in India and China, and that was somewhere around 2005. But I dont think were going to go back to the days of 2019 to 2021. So one of our first hires, now, the man who runs our business in Europe, we hired this guy, Lionel Assant, whos French, and we hired Germans. I mean, I think the biggest deal thats been done in the last 10 years is around $30 billion and that, you know, yeah, to get that done, we had to work with two of our competitors, which is fine.