Blackstone Lobbies Kerry

The New York Post reported over the weekend that The Blackstone Group, the giant buy out firm headed by Stephen Schwarzman (right), sent a five-page letter to Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts complaining about proposed legislation that would increase taxes on partnerships that go public. In the letter the Post reports that Blackstone estimates the proposed legislation would triple its tax burden and erase as much as $10.5 billion of its market value. Since going public earlier this summer shares of Blackstone have traded well below their offering price. In the past Kerry, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, has expressed reservations about the legislation, which is co-sponsored by Iowa Republican Charles Grassley and Montana Democrat Max Baucus. The letter to Kerry was reportedly drafted with the help of Blackstone's lobbyists. As Legal Times reported last week, mid-term filings show that Blackstone spent almost $4 million on lobbying in the first half of 2007, up from $120,000 over the same period in 2006. That spending helped raise revenues at one firm Blackstone favors, Ogilvy Government Relations, by more than 80 percent as compared to the first half of 2006. — From Senior Editor Douglas McCollam