Jonathan D. Gray

Jonathan D. Gray (born February 4, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman and the president and chief operating officer of Blackstone Group, a New York–based asset management firm. He is also chairman of Hilton Worldwide. Early life Gray was born in Highland Park, Illinois, to a Jewish family. His father Allen Gray owned a small auto parts manufacturer on the West Side of Chicago (coincidentally named Blackstone Manufacturing); his mother Susan, remarried to his stepfather James Florsheim, ran a catering business. His parents divorced when he was young. In 1992, Gray graduated from the University of Pennsylvania magna cum laude with a B.A. in English from the School of Arts & Sciences and a B.S. from the Wharton School. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Career In 1992, Gray joined Blackstone's mergers and acquisitions and private equity group, and joined its newly formed real estate private equity group the following year. He became co-head of the real estate group in 2005 and global head of real estate in 2011, overseeing a portfolio of hotel, office, retail, industrial, and residential properties in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Gray led Blackstone's LBO of Hilton Hotels, which became the most profitable private equity real estate deal ever, earning $14 billion for the firm's investors. Gray continues to act as Chairman of the Board of Hilton Worldwide, which went public in December 2013.