You might recall that, a decade ago, Mr. Schwarzman’s 60th birthday party — reportedly for some $5 million at the Park Avenue<br />Armory in Manhattan — spun into a yearslong existential crisis on Wall Street about the evils of conspicuous consumption.<br />But even a generous tally of all the most lavish components couldn’t get you anywhere within shouting distance of $20 million: Even if, theoretically, Gwen Stefani had charged the $1 million<br />that Rod Stewart was said to have charged at Mr. Schwarzman’s 60th (and she didn’t; the figure was substantially lower), it would take 20 of her to get to that price tag.<br />Mr. Trump’s election and the nominations of his cabinet of billionaires may draw ire from his critics,<br />but the people who elected him — who draw largely from the middle and lower classes — appear nonplused by his, and other people’s, showy displays of wealth.<br />A Billionaire’s Party Is a Lens on Wealth in the Trump Era -<br />So, Stephen A. Schwarzman had another birthday party.<br />Indeed, Mr. Trump’s surprise election may speak volumes about how large parts of the country view big<br />business today, as well as Mr. Trump’s efforts to lower taxes and deregulate parts of Wall Street.<br />But Mr. Schwarzman is the billionaire co-founder of the Blackstone Group as well as President Trump’s latest BFF as the chairman of the president’s strategic policy forum —<br />and his last birthday bash turned into a cultural flash point.<br />It’s a point that many of us in the media — myself included — largely missed.
