---
title: "Interview with Stephen Schwarzman Blackstone CEO & Founder"
description: "This short video below is a quick 30-minute interview with the founder & CEO of Stephen Schwarzman.  The interview is good, but what is great is Stephen's book, What it Takes.  On this page..."
url: https://billionaires.com/stephen-schwarzman/
date: 2022-02-22
modified: 2024-01-16
author: "Kevin Coulston"
type: page
lang: en
---

# Interview with Stephen Schwarzman Blackstone CEO & Founder

This short video below is a quick 30-minute interview with the founder & CEO of Stephen Schwarzman.  The interview is good, but what is great is Stephen’s book, What it Takes.  On this page you’ll find a picture of this book on Audible and a link to that book, make sure you buy it and listen to it whether you have time to stream this video right now or not.
What I have learned from Stephen is that you must clear out mediocrity, only say yes to really big, unique well-timed ideas,  and to not underestimate the power of buying businesses with inexpensive debt.  Blackstone has two values, 100% excellent and integrity, and with that Stephen has grown a $36B net worth.  I hope you find this video and more so is book as valuable as I have.

!(https://billionaires.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/what-it-takes.png)
[
Listen on Audible
](https://www.audible.com/pd/What-It-Takes-Audiobook/1508279152?qid=1645503117&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=DP4YYYBYB4RCDVZ5VZWB)
**Video Source:** Goldman Sachs