1985年，我共同创立了美国投资公司黑石集团。我们最初只有两个人。在随后的40年里，这家小公司成长为一家拥有5000名员工的繁荣全球企业。如今，全球客户委托我们管理的资产超过1.3万亿美元，约合200万亿日元，这一规模超过了日本的一般会计预算。
I co-founded Blackstone, an American investment firm, in 1985. We began with just two people. Over the next 40 years, that small firm grew into a thriving global enterprise with 5,000 employees. Today, clients around the world entrust us with more than $1.3 trillion in assets under management, roughly 200 trillion yen, a sum larger than Japan's general-account budget.
当人们听到“资产管理”一词时，往往首先想到的是股票和债券。黑石专注于私募市场，在私募股权、房地产、基础设施及其他资产类别中拥有85种不同的策略。例如，我们也是全球最大的数据中心所有者，这些为人工智能提供动力的关键设施正在重塑全球经济。
When people hear the term "asset management," they may think first of stocks and bonds. Blackstone is focused on the private markets, with 85 different strategies across private equity, real estate, infrastructure and other asset classes. For example, we are also the world's largest owner of data centers, the essential facilities that power artificial intelligence, which is now reshaping the global economy.
股票和债券之外的资产被称为“另类投资”。它们需要更专业的知识和更直接的管理，但也可能提供更高的潜在回报。在这一领域，黑石已成为全球最大的参与者。
Assets outside the traditional world of stocks and bonds are known as "alternatives." They require greater expertise and more hands-on management, but they can also offer the potential for higher returns. In this field, Blackstone has become the world's largest player.
连接全球各地办公室的周一例会体现了我们文化的精髓。通过串联看似无关的点滴，我们试图洞察他人尚未看到的未来。
The Monday meetings that link our offices around the globe embody the essence of our culture. By connecting seemingly unrelated dots, we try to bring into view a future that others have not yet seen.
2008年美国大型投资银行雷曼兄弟倒闭引发的金融危机的预警信号，在这些会议上也清晰地浮现出来。在本系列中，我将揭开这些会议运作的神秘面纱。
The warning signs of the financial crisis triggered by the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, the major U.S. investment bank, also emerged with striking clarity in those meetings. In this series, I will pull back the curtain on how they work.
除了投资者身份，我还身兼数职。其中之一是代表国家与世界各国领导人打交道，尽己所能提供服务。应邀时，我曾就经济政策和贸易等事务向两党的美国总统提供建议。
I wear many hats beyond that of investor. One of them is trying to be of service on behalf of my country with leaders around the world. When asked, I have provided advice to U.S. Presidents of both parties on matters related to economic policy and trade.
一个典型的例子就是为缓解美中之间的紧张关系所做的努力。特朗普总统上任后不久，就要求我向中国传达美国的立场；直到现在，我仍在继续履行这一职责，努力传递特朗普总统的施政理念以及我们国家的目标。在力所能及的范围内，我会分享这种双边外交背后的种种情况。
One example is the effort to ease tensions between the United States and China. Soon after President Trump took office, he asked me to communicate the US point of view to China. Even now, I continue to serve by helping convey President Trump's agenda and our country's goals. I will share, to the extent I can, what takes place behind the scenes of this bilateral diplomacy.
我的人脉关系已经扩展到了世界各地的政治领袖。其中就包括前首相安倍晋三。安倍在2013年推出的“安倍经济学”政策为日本经济带来了巨大的变革。当时，我真切地感受到日本人民终于重新露出了笑容——这是20年来他们第一次发自内心地感到快乐。经过多年的经济停滞，他们已经对现状感到厌倦；通过选择安倍作为首相，他们选择了改变国家的命运。
My relationships have extended to political leaders around the world. Among them was former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Abenomics, which Mr. Abe launched in 2013, brought a revolution to the Japanese economy. At the time, I felt I was seeing Japanese people laugh from the heart for the first time in 20 years. After long years of stagnation, they had grown tired of resignation. By choosing Mr. Abe, they had chosen to change the course of their country.
安倍先生是世界上最睿智的政治家之一。2022年他遇刺身亡时，我感到的悲痛与失落之情难以用言语形容。
Mr. Abe was one of the wisest statesmen in the world. When he was shot and killed in 2022, the sense of loss and gloom I felt was beyond words.
我当初创立黑石集团（Blackstone）时，坚信这个项目一定会成功；但在最初的几年里，我们遇到了许多困难，公司的业务进展十分缓慢。最终帮助我们摆脱困境的，是当时处于全球经济强势地位的日本投资者。从某种意义上说，正是日本的支持让黑石集团得以发展壮大。
I started Blackstone convinced it would succeed. But in the early years, we struggled badly. The business was going nowhere fast. What rescued us from that predicament was Japanese money, which was then at the height of its global power. In a real sense, Japan helped build Blackstone. Sony Group has been a client since those days.
索尼集团（Sony Group）从那时起就一直是我们的客户；我对索尼的创始人盛田昭夫（Akio Morita）和伊布卡正（Masaru Ibuka）怀有深深的感激之情。不过，对我帮助最大的人，是一位充满勇气和决心的证券行业人士——他就是安斋康男（Yasuo Kanzaki），他在日兴证券（Nikko Securities）工作期间取得了卓越的成就。
I owe a great deal to its founders, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. But the person who helped me most was one gutsy securities man. In this series, I will also explore my heartfelt, lifelong friendship with Yasuo -- Yasuo Kanzaki -- who made his mark at Nikko Securities.
20世纪90年代，随着日本资产价格泡沫的破裂，黑石集团曾暂时退出日本市场；但我现在坚信，在未来10到20年里，日本仍将成为我们的核心投资目的地。现在，正是通过我熟悉的投资方式，为日本的经济发展做出贡献、回报那些帮助我成长的人们的时候了——安斋康男，也在其中。
Blackstone withdrew from Japan for a time in the 1990s after the collapse of the nation's asset price bubble. But I am now convinced that Japan will be a core investment destination over the next 10 or 20 years. The time has come for me, through the investing I know best, to play a part in Japan's growth and repay my debt to the Japanese people who helped me grow, Yasuo among them.
我从未为自己设定过什么个人座右铭，但回顾自己的人生时，有两个核心理念浮现在我的脑海中：一个是“让明天变得更好”；另一个是“每天都要学习”。我相信今天是我人生中最美好的一天，我希望明天也能说出同样的话。为了实现这个目标，我必须日复一日地、谦逊而不懈地学习。
I have never had a personal motto, but as I look back on my life for this series two guiding ideas come to mind. One is "a better tomorrow." The other is "learn every day." I believe today is the best day of my life, and I want to be able to say the same tomorrow. To do that, I must keep learning, humbly and relentlessly, day by day.
在这个系列文章中，我会写下那些让我感到沮丧的失败经历，以及从这些经历中获得的教训和成功。我希望读者能够了解到一个为了创造更美好的明天而不断学习的人的真实面貌。
In this series, I will write about the failures that brought me tears of frustration, as well as the lessons and successes that came from them. I want readers to know the true face of a man who has tried to learn every day for the sake of a better tomorrow.
斯蒂芬·施瓦茨曼（Stephen Schwarzman）是黑石集团（Blackstone）的联合创始人、董事长兼首席执行官。
Stephen Schwarzman is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Blackstone.