Skip to main content
December 3, 2021
Updated:
Original:

Steve Schwarzman: Harvard Admits Its Biggest Mistake (Doubting My Sheer F*cking Awesomeness)

It still keeps them up at night.
Author:

Earlier this week, news broke that Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman will donate $150 million to his alma mater, Yale University, to finance a state of the art student center that will be "designed to draw together students and faculty from all of Yale's schools and colleges and...will enable virtual engagement with the outside world in a dynamic way never done before at Yale." Obviously this is hugely exciting for everyone in New Haven, but for another institution of higher learning, it represents a painful reminder of the biggest mistake made in its 379-year history: passing on a young Steve Schwarzman.

Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder of Blackstone Group LP, said a former admission dean of Harvard College later told him it was a mistake to have rejected him as an undergraduate applicant. “He wrote me a few years ago saying, ’I guess we got that one wrong,’” Schwarzman said Tuesday in a Bloomberg Television interview with Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle in which he recounted his application. “My number-one choice was Harvard and I didn’t get in,” Schwarzman said, adding that he called the dean from his high-school pay phone to ask him to change his mind, which was “like dialing God.”

Speaking of desperate phone calls, Schwarzman didn't get into more details but records show that Harvard's current dean of admissions called him at 3AM last Thursday, asking for at least the 11th time if he'd just consider applying again. You can never have too many degrees and an M.A. from its Graduate School of design would round out his résumé nicely.

In other news, look for a brand new building erected in Gothic architecture style just over the limits of the Harvard campus, coming in 2022, called The Steve Schwarman Suck It, Bitches Student Center, open to all Cambridge/Boston area undergrad, excluding those of a Crimson persuasion.

Schwarzman: Harvard Admitted Rejecting Me Was a Mistake [Bloomberg]
Landmark gift from alumnus Stephen A. Schwarzman to establish first-of-its-kind campus center at Yale [YN]

Related (-ish): Larry Fink: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made Was Doubting My Own Sheer Fucking Awesomeness

Related

News

Larry Fink: The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made Was Doubting My Own Sheer Fucking Awesomeness

News

Decline In Applications At Wharton Indicative Only Of Its Sheer F*cking Awesomeness, Says Wharton

News

Steve Schwarzman's Other Two Great Loves: Chicks And Ballet

News

Steve Schwarzman Can't Help But Make Money Hand Over Fist: Steve Schwarzman

The word's "earnings machine" were used.

News

Phil Falcone Suffers Biggest Indignity Yet

harvardhedge
Hedge Funds

Harvard Admits That Harvard Sucks At Managing Harvard's Money

In a blow to metaphysical obnoxiousness, the phrase "I'm a hedge fund manager at Harvard" is now obsolete.

News

Hardcore Harvard Investment Group Soliciting Student Partners Who Aren't Afraid To Take Some Risks With Their Parents' Money

You're a Harvard undergrad and you want to beef up your resume so that in a couple years, top hedge funds will be begging you to take meetings with them. You figure joining some sort of on-campus investor group might do the trick, but there are so many to choose from it's difficult to figure out which one is going to be your ticket to the big leagues. Except it's not actually that difficult at all. In fact, the answer is quite simple. There are student investment clubs and there is Black Diamond Capital Investors. The former, piddling little after-school programs for, when it comes down to it, amateurs. The latter, an opportunity to put your balls on the table and make some real money. If that sounds like something you'd be interested, please have a check or money order for at least $1,000 ready,* which is the minimum investment members/partners must make, so that management can ensure everyone's got skin in the game. “Black Diamond is all about taking investments to the next level,” said Patrick M. Colangelo ’14, who founded the club last semester. He said that the mandatory minimum investment exists to ensure member engagement in the group, which is limited to 25 participants. "We select experienced finance students who are willing to put up the minimum capital contribution because we seek partners who will be vested in the operations and performance of the fund," Colangelo said. "It really gets the most out of our partners.” Member Arash Alidoust ’13 said he believes the buy-in is critical to the success of Black Diamond, which claims to be Harvard’s largest private growth fund. “It makes you much more concerned and much more innovative,” Alidoust said. “Black Diamond becomes part of your life.” And while the initial outlay be difficult for some college kids to swing, rest assured you're going to make it back many times over. Members said that Black Diamond’s investment strategy differs significantly from that of other financial groups on campus. Like the hedge funds it emulates, Black Diamond is a riskier investment than some of its peer groups, a risk which members hope will be rewarded. Colangelo said that the organization is aiming for a 30 percent return on its investment...“What Black Diamond has been created for is for investors who have a little bit of experience, joining a group of other experienced individuals who really want to do something different,” Colangelo said. Alidoust said that the strength and diversity of Black Diamond’s team of investors allows the club to break out of the typical “framework” of investing. “We encourage innovation and new ideas about investing, rather than just sticking with the old ideas,” he said. Exclusive Investment Club Asks Student Members for $1,000 [Crimson] *Though feel free to invest up to $20,000.

News

Steve Schwarzman Is "Still Upset" About This One Time He Lost Money On A Deal, Twenty-Four Years Ago