In a message to Blackstone’s employees, CEO Steve Schwarzman and president Jon Gray said that, in light of the recent events, it was important to reassert what it “believed as a firm”.

In a joint statement, they added: “We are committed to creating a highly inclusive work environment for people of all races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, ethnicities and nationalities.  
 

“Blackstone has always strongly embraced diversity of ideas and backgrounds, and has zero tolerance for racism of any kind. Though we are not all together physically, we encourage each of you to reach out to colleagues and friends, to join our firm wide affinity networks, and continue to give back to your communities.”

Protests have taken place, and in many cases violence has erupted, across the US following the death of George Floyd during an encounter with the police in Minneapolis in the US state of Minnesota on 25 May this year. 

Schwarzman and Gray said they were "deeply disturbed by the awful acts of racial injustice our country has recently experienced, particularly the horrific murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis”.

They added: “Coming on the heels of other wrongful deaths of African Americans, it has set off a wave of protest and violence across the United States. Our deepest sympathies are with the victims’ families, friends and impacted communities.  All Americans are struggling to make sense of these events.

“As civil rights leader, Congressman John Lewis once said, America is about the ‘endless struggle to respond with decency, dignity, and a sense of brotherhood to all the challenges that face us, as a nation’. We certainly share his vision.”