Massachusetts Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren slammed private equity and asset management giant the Blackstone Group for “shamelessly” profiting from the 2008 housing crisis.
According to Bloomberg, the democratic politician attacked the Blackstone Group for going on a “shopping spree” in the wake of the 2008 crisis and buying apartments and single family homes that had been foreclosed. She also took aim at Colony Capital Inc. and Cerberus Capital Management.
“Some of the same Wall Street firms that tanked the dream of home ownership for millions of American families are now the country’s biggest landlords – profiting off the destruction they caused,” Warren wrote in her post.
In response, the Blackstone Group issued a statement saying: “Though we are only a tiny percentage of the housing market, we are proud of our investments, which are helping address the housing shortage by adding high-quality, professionally managed rental housing, while contributing to local economies and creating jobs — all on behalf of our investors, which include retirement systems for millions of teachers, nurses, firefighters and other pensioners.”
Blackstone is one of the world’s largest real-estate investors, and has about $554 billion in total assets under management.