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Peter G. Peterson – the billionaire co-founder of global investment giant Blackstone Group and former a U.S. Secretary of Commerce– died at age 91 on Tuesday, March 20. Peterson, whose net worth was an estimated $2 billion at the time of his passing, died at his home in New York City of natural causes, according to a spokesperson for his foundation.
While serving as Richard Nixon’s Secretary of Commerce from 1972 to 1973, he led an influential study of the Soviet economy that impacted the president’s foreign policy. He later served as CEO of Lehman Brothers in the 1970s and early 1980s, and he created the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in 2008 to raise public awareness of the fiscal issues, such as high deficits and excessive spending, plaguing the United States.
“I am a very lucky American dreamer but I want to see that dream alive for my five children's and nine grand children's generations,” Peterson wrote in his 2010 letter signing onto the Giving Pledge. “On our current path, I fear we are imperiling their future by passing on massive, hidden debts and unthinkable taxes.”
The son of Greek immigrants, Peterson was raised during the Great Depression and worked the cash register at his father’s 24-hour diner when he was 8-years-old. Over 70 years later in 2007, he sold part of his stake in Blackstone – which he and fellow billionaire Steve Schwarzman founded in 1985 – for $1.85 billion pre-tax.
Peterson is survived by his wife Joan Ganz Cooney, the co-founder of the Children’s Television Workshop whom he married in 1980. In a statement, the Peterson family wrote: “Peter G. Peterson was our beloved patriarch – husband, father, grandfather, uncle and brother. He lived a long, wonderful life that embodied the American Dream. As a first-generation American born in Kearney, Nebraska, Pete exceeded all of his expectations in becoming a successful businessman, statesman and philanthropist. His intelligence, wit and vision made him an inspirational leader who brought people together from the White House to Wall Street. For his entire career, and especially since the launch of his own foundation 10 years ago, Pete dedicated his time, energy, passion and resources to ensuring that future generations could have the same opportunities that were afforded to him. He will be sorely missed by all of us, and many others with whom he worked and enjoyed his valuable life.”
Peterson’s other achievements include chairing the Council on Foreign Relations from 1985 through 2007, serving on the board of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and authoring seven books.
Source: Forbes
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