Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has announced the final close on $2.6 billion for its latest real estate secondaries fund, Strategic Partners Real Estate VIII L.P., and its related committed program vehicles.
Verdun Perry '94, Global Head of Strategic Partners, said "We are incredibly grateful to our investors for their continued support. We remain committed to generating strong risk-adjusted returns for the millions of beneficiaries that our investors represent. With our substantial scale and private market footprint, we believe we are well-positioned to capitalize on the substantial and growing opportunities in the real estate secondaries market." 
Blackstone Strategic Partners is a global leader in illiquid fund investing, including secondaries, co-investments and primary advisory. Founded in 2000, Blackstone Strategic Partners has $68 billion of investor capital under management (as of September 30, 2023) and is one of the most prolific secondary market participants in the world, having closed over 2,000 transactions across its private equity, infrastructure, and real estate platforms, representing more than 5,400 underlying fund interests managed by over 1,600 managers.
Prior to joining Strategic Partners, Perry worked at Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon, Eckhardt, Inc., and Morgan Stanley & Co. In 2018 and 2020, Savoy Magazine profiled him as among the most influential Black executives in corporate America. His passion for and commitment to increasing diversity in finance and education-focused philanthropic causes is central to who he is. He founded the Blackstone Diverse Professionals Network in 2014.
Perry is a member of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees and also serves on the board of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, which is an organization focused on narrowing the opportunity gap for minority high school and college students, as well as increasing diversity at financial institutions. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Morehouse College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa, as well as a master's degree from Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. Verdun is a Fellow of the 2021 class of the Finance Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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Alumni Achievement