By Matt Chaban 8/17/11 1:01pm

Machers

A remorseful Roth. (Getty)

Vornado’s Steve Roth ‘Still Remorseful’ About Losing Equity Office to Blackstone’s Jon Gray

Jonathan Gray, Blackstone’s wizard of real estate, has spent billions buying up distressed assets during the downturn, including his brand-new bid for some of Bank of America’s buildings. Still, the deal that has defined his career so far has to be Blackstone’s purchase of Sam Zell’s Equity Office Properties. Not only was the 2007 acquisition of 563 office properties the largest leveraged buyout of all time, at $39 billion, but it also pit Mr. Gray against one of the shrewdest men in real estate, Vornado’s Steve Roth. The bullish Mr. Roth is still stinging from the loss. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/17/11 12:01am

Blackstoned

Gray at play. (Fred Harper)

Jonathan Gray, Blackstone’s Real Estate Wizard Behind the Curtain

In February 2007, Sam Zell told Jonathan Gray to buy a motorcycle.

Mr. Gray, head of the real estate division at private equity powerhouse Blackstone Group, had just closed on the purchase of Mr. Zell’s Equity Office Properties. Blackstone had announced its bid the previous November, just 13 months after Mr. Gray had stepped into his new role. He had spent his entire career at the firm, so his ascent was not so surprising, and had managed 10 deals worth a combined $32 billion so far, so the territory was not exactly new. All the same, Mr. Gray was 37 years old at the time, and he had embarked on the largest leveraged buyout in history.

On Jan. 18, less than a month before the deal was to close, Vornado Realty and two backers launched an unsolicited bid. It was $52 a share to Blackstone’s $48.50. Steve Roth, the bullish—in outlook, demeanor and build—chairman of the massive New York-based investment trust had arrived in the bookish Mr. Gray’s china shop, and it was now a scramble to fend him off. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/17/11 12:00am

Blackstoned

16 Photos

An Extended Stay hotel.

Gray’s Anatomy: Inside Blackstone’s Booming Building Empire [Pics]

In this week’s paper, The Observer profiled the humble head of real estate at Blackstone Group, Jonathan Gray. He may be a mystery to those outside of the industry, but the hundreds of buildings, worth many, many billions of dollars, are not. From the Waldorf-Astoria to the old New York Times Building, from strip malls to budget hotels, Mr. Gray has had a hand in all of them. Take a very, very small tour of his holdings.