Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman expects the novel coronavirus outbreak to wipe out nearly a quarter of US economic output this year.
“We have a GDP of somewhere around $21 trillion and we’re probably going to miss $5 trillion of it,” the chief of the private equity titan told Bloomberg on Tuesday. The pandemic is temporarily “putting stress on everything,” he added.
However, Schwarzman said the current turmoil could present an opportunity for cash-rich businesses as they can make “very significant investments.” He added that Blackstone was “looking aggressively” to make use of its $150 billion war chest.