Blackstone Leads Race to Unlock $7 Trillion of Cash in Japan

Steve Schwarzman has become an unlikely fixture in Japanese media of late. The Blackstone Inc. co-founder stars in a 30-second television commercial in Japanese as he touts the acumen of the world’s biggest alternative asset manager. The pitch is backed by newspaper ads and social media videos, along with a reprint of his biography.

The rare media blitz is aimed at winning over what Blackstone sees as the largest private wealth opportunity outside the US — the legion of millionaires who hold a sizable chunk of the $7 trillion in cash parked in Japanese households. Blackstone and rivals such as EQT AB and KKR & Co. are trying to coax them to put more of it in private equity and credit.