Peter Peterson

Co-Founder, The Blackstone Group; Chairman Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations

Peter G. Peterson was an American entrepreneur, investment banker and politician. He served as United States Secretary of Commerce during the Nixon administration and was Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations until his retirement in 2007. Peter co-founded the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, in 1985 and retired in 2008 as its Senior Chairman. He authored of the book Running On Empty: How The Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It. Peterson was Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2000 to 2004 and is founding Chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics. He passed away in 2018.

Everything Videos

Does Pete Peterson Look Worried?

Peterson talks about the American economy.

What do you do?

Pete Peterson is the Senior Chairman of The Blackstone Group.

Pete Peterson is a clear example of realizing the American Dream.

How do we kick the oil addiction?

Ethanol is not a solution.

Religion in a Modern World

Be a good, helpful human being.

What is the measure of a good life?

Sharing your life makes it a good life.

Do the rich have a responsibility to the poor?

Philanthropy is a redistribution of good luck.

Earned love isn’t real love.

Is the income gap growing?

Even a fat cat says it is.

Is the American political system broken?

The younger generation does not get the representation it deserves.

What is private equity?

Private equity as a cure for “short-termitis.”

Are there equal opportunities for minorities?

Study hard and, with a bit of luck, you’ll do fine.

It all started with a shorter walk.

How has death changed your life?

After his baby sister died, the Peterson family was never the same.

What is your outlook?

Nobody likes a pessimist.

Debt, Peterson says, is a tricky thing. Eventually, you have to pay it back.

How did Americans acquire a “to hell with you” attitude?

What do you believe?

God bless America.

Pete Peterson on Inspiration

The Blackstone co-founder wants to be spontaneously loved.

How do you contribute?

When he got the chance to serve the government, Peterson couldn’t not take it.

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