Peter G. Peterson
Peter G. Peterson's life journey reads like a quintessential American success story, transforming from the son of Greek immigrants working in a diner to a titans of Wall Street and a high-ranking government official. He not only co-founded one of the world's most powerful private equity firms, Blackstone, but also dedicated a substantial portion of his vast fortune to advocating for fiscal responsibility in the United States. His career trajectory reveals a man driven by ambition, intellect, and a profound commitment to shaping the nation's economic future. Peterson's remarkable career spanned government service as Secretary of Commerce under President Nixon, and leading roles at financial powerhouses like Lehman Brothers and co-founding Blackstone. He amassed significant wealth, particularly from Blackstone's IPO, which he largely channeled into philanthropic efforts focused on educating the public about national debt and fiscal sustainability. A steadfast advocate for fiscal austerity, Peterson established foundations and news platforms to promote long-term economic responsibility, often challenging prevailing political narratives.
AI Summary
Peter G. Peterson's life journey reads like a quintessential American success story, transforming from the son of Greek immigrants working in a diner to a titans of Wall Street and a high-ranking government official. He not only co-founded one of the world's most powerful private equity firms, Blackstone, but also dedicated a substantial portion of his vast fortune to advocating for fiscal responsibility in the United States. His career trajectory reveals a man driven by ambition, intellect, and a profound commitment to shaping the nation's economic future.
- Peterson's remarkable career spanned government service as Secretary of Commerce under President Nixon, and leading roles at financial powerhouses like Lehman Brothers and co-founding Blackstone.
- He amassed significant wealth, particularly from Blackstone's IPO, which he largely channeled into philanthropic efforts focused on educating the public about national debt and fiscal sustainability.
- A steadfast advocate for fiscal austerity, Peterson established foundations and news platforms to promote long-term economic responsibility, often challenging prevailing political narratives.
A Life of Impact
Peter G. Peterson was an American investment banker, a powerful figure who navigated the worlds of business, government, and philanthropy with remarkable influence. Born in 1926, his journey took him from a small-town diner to the highest echelons of finance and a cabinet position in the White House. It's a story of ambition, intellect, and a deep-seated commitment to public discourse.
Humble Beginnings
Peterson's early life in Kearney, Nebraska, was deeply rooted in the American immigrant experience. His parents, George and Venetia Peterson, had arrived from Greece, with his father working his way up from a dishwasher to owning the Central Café. Young Peter started working at the cash register there at just eight years old, learning the value of hard work firsthand.
His academic path began with a stumble — an expulsion from MIT for plagiarism. But Peterson quickly redirected, earning top honors from Northwestern University in 1947 and an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1951. This early setback fueled a relentless drive for success and knowledge.
Rise in Business
Peterson's career quickly gained momentum. After starting at a market research firm, he moved to the advertising agency McCann Erickson, and then in 1958, joined Bell & Howell, a prominent movie-equipment maker. By 1963, he had risen to chairman and CEO, demonstrating his exceptional leadership capabilities in the corporate world.
His reputation grew, leading to an invitation from influential philanthropists like John D. Rockefeller III to chair a commission on foundations. This 'Peterson Commission' made significant recommendations, including requiring foundations to disburse a minimum proportion of their funds annually, ensuring their charitable impact.
Serving the Nation
In 1971, President Richard Nixon tapped Peterson for a crucial role: Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs. Peterson delivered a groundbreaking secret report, arguing that the U.S. was economically declining within the existing global trade order. He proposed a bold shift towards an 'industrial policy' to challenge competitors.
This report profoundly influenced Nixon, laying the intellectual groundwork for his dramatic decision in August 1971 to end the Bretton Woods system — a global monetary framework that had governed international finance since World War II. Though some economists were critical, Peterson's insights helped reshape American economic strategy.
In 1972, Peterson was appointed U.S. Secretary of Commerce. During his year in this cabinet position, he also chaired Nixon's National Commission on Productivity and co-chaired the U.S.–Soviet Commercial Commission. Even then, he was a vocal critic of America's escalating financial debt, a theme that would define much of his later life.
Wall Street Powerhouse
After his time in Washington, Peterson returned to finance, becoming chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers from 1973 to 1984. His leadership guided the venerable firm through a transformative period in the financial industry.
In 1985, Peterson co-founded The Blackstone Group with Stephen A. Schwarzman, a private equity and investment management firm that would become a global financial titan. For many years, Peterson served as its chairman, overseeing its rapid growth and influence. This venture cemented his legacy as a financial visionary.
When Blackstone went public in 2007, Peterson realized a personal fortune of $1.9 billion. This immense wealth wasn't just for personal gain; it became the engine for his passion projects, particularly his ambitious charitable and political causes focused on fiscal responsibility.
A Champion for Fiscal Responsibility
Peterson became a leading voice in American public policy, notably as chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1985 to 2007. His influence extended to various prestigious institutions, including serving as a trustee for the Museum of Modern Art and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In 1992, he co-founded the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan organization dedicated to reducing the federal budget deficit. A lifelong Republican, Peterson expressed disappointment with his party's fiscal direction, stating in 2004 that Republicans had become a 'far more theological, faith-directed party, not troubling with evidence.'
His commitment intensified with the establishment of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF) in 2008. This organization was explicitly created to raise public awareness about critical fiscal sustainability issues, including national debt, federal deficits, Social Security, and tax policies.
The PGPF actively distributed the 2008 documentary film 'I.O.U.S.A.,' an exposé on America's national debt, and engaged presidential candidates to address these issues. Peterson also funded 'The Fiscal Times,' a news website providing in-depth reporting on economic matters with a focus on federal finances.
In 2010, Peterson joined 'The Giving Pledge,' an initiative by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, committing to donate at least half of his wealth to charity. The vast majority of his philanthropic giving was directed to his own foundation, underscoring his unwavering focus on long-term fiscal health for the nation.
His advocacy continued late into his life. Peterson publicly opposed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, arguing that cutting taxes by increasing the national debt would ultimately harm the economy. He urged business leaders to prioritize their country's fiscal future over short-term corporate gains.
Lasting Legacy
Peterson was married three times, reflecting in his autobiography on the challenges of balancing a demanding career with personal life, yet expressing pride in his close relationship with his children. His third marriage was to Joan Ganz Cooney, the co-creator of 'Sesame Street.'
Peter G. Peterson passed away on March 20, 2018, at the age of 91, leaving behind a profound legacy. He was recognized with numerous honors throughout his life, including the Golden Plate Award and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship.
The influential Peterson Institute for International Economics was renamed in his honor in 2006, a testament to his significant contributions to economic thought and policy. His writings, including books like 'Facing Up' and 'Gray Dawn,' continue to inform the ongoing debate about America's fiscal future.
Article
Peter G. Peterson
Peter George Peterson (June 5, 1926 – March 20, 2018) was an American investment banker who served as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1972 to 1973 during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Peterson was also chairman and CEO of Bell & Howell from 1963 to 1971. From 1973 to 1984, he was chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers. In 1985, he co-founded the private equity firm the Blackstone Group, and served as chairman. In the same year, Peterson became chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, a position he held until his retirement in 2007, after which he was named chairman emeritus. In 2008, Peterson was ranked 149th on the "Forbes 400 Richest Americans" with a net worth of $2.8 billion. He was also known as founder and principal funder of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting fiscal austerity.
Early life and education
Peter G. Peterson
Peterson was born on June 5, 1926, in Kearney, Nebraska. He was the eldest of three children born to Venetia "Venet" Paul (née Pavlou) and George Peterson (né Petropoulos). His parents were immigrants from southern Greece. He had one younger sister, Elaine, who died of croup when she was one year old, and a brother, John, who was the youngest. His father arrived in the United States at age 17, worked as a dishwasher for Union Pacific Railroad and roomed in a caboose. In 1923, George opened and then ran a Greek diner, Central Café, in Kearney, after changing his name from Georgios Petropoulos. Peter began working at the cash register at age 8. Expelled from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for plagiarizing a term paper in his freshman year, Peterson enrolled at Northwestern University and The Kellogg School, graduating in 1947 with highest academic honors, summa cum laude. Peterson was first married from 1948 to 1950 to Kris Krengel, a journalism student at Northwestern University. He joined Market Facts upon graduation, a Chicago-based market research firm, in 1948. In 1951, he received an MBA degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business before returning to Market Facts as an executive vice president.
Business career
Peter G. Peterson
Peterson joined advertising agency McCann Erickson in 1953, again in Chicago, where he served as a director. He joined movie-equipment maker Bell and Howell Corporation in 1958 as executive vice president. He later succeeded Charles H. Percy as chairman and CEO, positions he held from 1963 to 1971.
In 1969, he was invited by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller III, CFR chairman John J. McCloy, and former treasury secretary Douglas Dillon to chair a Commission on Foundations and Private Philanthropy, which became known as the Peterson Commission. Among its recommendations adopted by the government were that foundations be required annually to disburse a minimum proportion of their funds.
United States Secretary of Commerce (1972–73)
Peter G. Peterson
Peterson in a group photo of Nixon's cabinet on June 16, 1972, third from the left on the bottom row
In 1971, he was named assistant to the president for international economic affairs by U.S. president Richard Nixon. In April 1971, Peterson produced a secret report for Nixon on the volatile world economy that argued that the U.S. was in economic decline under the existing world order of trade, which the U.S. had helped build immediately after World War II. To stem that decline, according to Peterson, the U.S. must challenge competing nations in the trading sphere by adopting industrial policy. The report impressed Nixon and the idea of American competitive decline soon became "an article of popular belief". The report established some of the intellectual foundations of Nixon's decision in August 1971 to upend the Bretton Woods agreement. Professional economists derided the thesis as a form of mercantilism that betrayed "economic illiteracy".
In 1972, Peterson became Secretary of Commerce, a position he held for one year. At that time he also assumed the chairmanship of Nixon's National Commission on Productivity and was appointed U.S. Chairman of the U.S.–Soviet Commercial Commission. During his tenure, Peterson was a strong critic of the rising financial debt of the United States.
Post-Washington career
Peter G. Peterson
Peterson was chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers (1973–1977) and Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc. (1977–1984).
In 1985, Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman co-founded the private equity and investment management firm the Blackstone Group, and for many years Peterson was its chairman. At Blackstone, he made a fortune, including the $1.9 billion he received when it went public in 2007, that funded many of his charitable and political causes.
Peterson swearing in, Cmdr. Pam Chelgren-Koterba, the first woman officer of the NOAA Corps (1972)
Clinton presidency
Peter G. Peterson
In 1992, he was one of the co-founders of the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan citizens' organization that advocates reduction of the federal budget deficit. Following record deficits under President George W. Bush, Peterson said in 2004, "I remain a Republican, but the Republicans have become a far more theological, faith-directed party, not troubling with evidence."
In February 1994, President Bill Clinton named Peterson as a member of the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform co-chaired by Senators Bob Kerrey and John Danforth. He also served as co-chair of the Conference Board Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprises (co-chaired by John Snow).
Later career
Peter G. Peterson
Peterson succeeded David Rockefeller as chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations in 1985 and served until his retirement from that position in 2007. He served as trustee of the Rockefeller family's Japan Society and of the Museum of Modern Art, and was previously on the board of Rockefeller Center Properties, Inc.
He was the founding chairman of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (formerly the "Institute for International Economics", renamed in his honor in 2006), and a trustee of the Committee for Economic Development. He was also chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York between 2000 and 2004.
In 2008, he founded the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF), an organization devoted to spreading public awareness on fiscal sustainability issues related to the national debt, federal deficits, Social Security policy, and tax policies. PGPF distributed the 2008 documentary film I.O.U.S.A. and did outreach to the 2008 presidential candidates.
Peterson funded The Fiscal Times, a news website that reports on current economic issues, including the federal budget, the deficit, entitlements, health care, personal savings, taxation, and the global economy. Fiscal Times contributors and editors include several veteran economics reporters for The New York Times and The Washington Post.
On August 4, 2010, it was announced that Peterson had signed "The Giving Pledge". He was one of 40 billionaires, led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who agreed to give at least half their wealth to charity. Most of his giving was to his own foundation, The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which focuses on raising public awareness about long-term fiscal sustainability issues.
Political activities
Peter G. Peterson
From 2007 through 2011, Peterson was reported to have contributed $458 million to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, to promote the cause of fiscal responsibility.
Peterson opposed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 because it cut corporate and other taxes by raising the debt. "Mortgaging our fiscal future for trillions in temporary tax cuts will hurt our economy over time, and every C.E.O. should know that", he said. "True business patriots need to advocate for their country as well as their company."
Personal life
Peter G. Peterson
Peterson was married three times and divorced twice. In 1953, he married former Brown University psychology professor Sally Hornbogen Peterson, a trustee of the Dalton School and a graduate of Northwestern University, with whom he had five children: John Scott Peterson, James Jim Peterson, David Peterson, Michael Alexander Peterson, and the writer Holly Peterson. They divorced in 1979. The next year, Peterson married Joan Ganz Cooney, the co-creator of the popular American educational children's television series Sesame Street.
In his autobiography, Peterson recalled his business and private life and blamed himself for the failure of two of his three marriages but expressed pride for having grown close to his children.
Peterson died on March 20, 2018, at age 91, of natural causes at his Manhattan home. He is survived by his children, his wife Joan, and nine grandchildren.
Honors
Peter G. Peterson
In 1962, Peterson received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
In recognition of his support, the influential Peterson Institute for International Economics was named in his honor in 2006.
In 2006, Peterson was honored with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution. The same year he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Writings
Peter G. Peterson
• "Why I’m Giving Away $1 Billion", Newsweek, May 30, 2009 • "You Can't Take It with You", Newsweek, April 7, 2008 • "Old habits must change", The Banker, 3 January 2005 • Articles published in "Foreign Affairs" 1994–2004.
Books
• Facing Up: How to Rescue the Economy from Crushing Debt and Restore the American Dream. Simon & Schuster; First Edition (November 8, 1993). ISBN 978-0-671-79642-6 • Will America Grow up Before it Grows Old: How the Coming Social Security Crisis Threatens You, Your Family and Your Country. Random House; 1 edition (October 8, 1996). ISBN 978-0-679-45256-0 • Gray Dawn: How the Coming Age Wave Will Transform America—and the World. Three Rivers Press (September 26, 2000). ISBN 978-0-8129-9069-0 • On Borrowed Time: How the Growth in Entitlement Spending Threatens America's Future with Neil Howe. Transaction Publishers (May 1, 2004). ISBN 978-0-7658-0575-1 • Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It. Picador (June 16, 2005). ISBN 978-0-312-42462-6 • The Education of an American Dreamer: How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Wall Street, and Beyond. Twelve (June 8, 2009). ISBN 978-0-446-55603-3