Tent, a non-profit network of major companies supporting refugees worldwide, will assist the firm in its efforts.
By joining Tent, a non-profit network of major companies supporting refugees worldwide, Blackstone makes a commitment to hire 2,000 refugees across its global portfolio companies, including its real estate properties, by the end of 2025. This plan calls for 1,500 refugee hires in the U.S. alone.
Currently, the company’s portfolio companies and real estate properties have already hired roughly 500 refugees from countries which include Afghanistan, Ukraine, El Salvador and Guatemala. Blackstone also joined the Welcome.US CEO Council, an effort to encourage private sector support for refugees specifically from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
An impactful partnership for refugees and companies alike
Blackstone’s new partnership with Tent intends to positively impact the lives of people who have fled war, violence, conflict and persecution, and support their search for safety in another country. The company plans to work closely with organizations specializing in refugee resettlement, including Tent but also other national and local resettlement agencies. This is slated to ensure the tools as well as the resources necessary to hire, promote and train these new employees.
The company’s refugee commitment, as well as the veterans commitment, are both part of the firm’s broader portfolio hiring initiatives. Career Pathway, Blackstone’s signature program, was designed to foster economic mobility as well as support ongoing diversity efforts at Blackstone’s portfolio companies. It aims to work from the ground up, removing legacy barriers to hiring and increasing employment opportunities as well as career mobility for individuals from historically under-represented communities. The end goal is to build careers for these individuals, but also to create broader talent pools for Blackstone’s portfolio companies around the world.
It has been an eventful year so far for Blackstone. In April, the company entered an agreement to acquire PS Business Parks Inc. in a $7.6 billion deal, increasing its commercial real estate holdings in the U.S. with a roughly 27 million-square-foot portfolio of industrial, business park, traditional office and multifamily properties.
