We’re in the thick of the holiday season, and that can only mean one thing on Wall Street: Blackstone’s annual holiday video is out.
The tongue-in-cheek video leans into the private equity shop’s 40th anniversary with a mocking tribute to its 1980s origins. It riffs on everything from Ken Burns-style narration, including an abrupt firing of Burns himself in favor of some “pizzazz,” to execs dancing their way through “Dirty Dancing”-style choreography.
Executives portraying the firm’s mid-life crisis include one who wears a nose ring and others who want to buy sports teams or Ferrari (the company). Cameos include actor Danny DeVito pitching jargon-filled investment products, as well as Goldman Sachs CEO (and side-hustling DJ) David Solomon.
The seven-and-a-half-minute video concludes with Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and President Jon Gray in a parody of the “Back to the Future” movie.
Blackstone is no stranger to quirky holiday videos. In fact, this was their 8th in a row (see where this year’s video lands in BI’s power ranking).
You might be wondering: Why does Blackstone spend so much time, effort, and money on such a thing, especially when few other financial firms do? Apollo produced its own holiday video in 2022, but this year the private-equity firm appears to have pivoted to publishing.
Blackstone produced its first holiday video in 2018 as a replacement for its New York holiday party, as the firm had grown too large. Earlier this month, at a conference, Gray said the video was a way for the world’s largest private investor to “make fun of ourselves.”
Blackstone’s video ends on a poignant note in memory of Wesley LePatner, a Blackstone executive who was killed in the tragic summer shooting at the firm’s NYC headquarters. The video said she “always made us smile.”
