Investment giant Blackstone has committed to hiring 2,000 international refugees to work at real estate properties and companies in its portfolio over the next three years.
New York-based Blackstone said it expects 1,500 of the new employees to be based in the United States, with its refugee hiring goal reached by year-end 2025. Blackstone is joining Tent, a nonprofit network of major companies committed to supporting refugees worldwide. Tent's founder is Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of the Chobani yogurt company. Giovanni Cutaia, Blackstone's global head of real estate asset management, attended last week's Tent Summit, where the firm's commitment to hiring refugees was announced.
So far, Blackstone's companies and properties have hired nearly 500 refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Ukraine, El Salvador and Guatemala. It has more than 250 portfolio companies and owns over 12,000 real estate assets.
Blackstone's commitment to hiring refugees "allows our portfolio companies and real estate properties to welcome a powerful spectrum of backgrounds, identities and experiences," Kathleen McCarthy, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said in a statement.
Blackstone plans to "work hand in hand with on-the-ground teams at our portfolio companies and properties" to make the hires, CEO Stephen Schwarzman said in a statement.