Remembering Wesley LePatner, Blackstone’s Star

Philanthropist, mentor, fast-rising executive, beloved family member: Wesley LePatner is being remembered this week for the abundant contributions of a brief life.

“She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone,” the company said in a statement after LePatner’s passing.  LePatner, the CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, was among the four people who died July 28 in the mass shooting at 345 Park Ave. in midtown Manhattan.

In a 2023 interview with CPE, the executive recalled that her early fascination with real estate was inspired by New York City’s constant construction activity and dinner-table conversation with her parents. Her father, Barry LePatner, is an attorney specializing in construction issues and a longtime columnist for CPE.

A real estate career “felt natural and relatable to me,” Wesley LePatner told CPE. “After all, the sector touches the trends we all encounter in our daily lives.”

A summa cum laude graduate of Yale, LePatner, 43, had served as BREIT’s CEO since Jan. 1. Before joining Blackstone in 2013, she was a managing director in Goldman Sachs’ Real Estate Investment Group.

“She was the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and relative, who enriched our lives in every way imaginable,” as well as a “driven and extraordinarily talented professional and colleague.” the LePatner family told Fortune.

Paying it forward

Along with her professional achievements, LePatner was a leader in organizations in commercial real estate and beyond. In February, she was elected to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s board of trustees. She also served as a member of Nareit’s Advisory Board of Governors and Public Non-Listed REIT (PNLR) Council.

 “Wesley provided thoughtful guidance and meaningful insights that helped shape important conversations within our industry,” Steven Weschler, the organization’s president & CEO, said in a statement. “Her influence, leadership, and contributions to the REIT and commercial real estate community will be long remembered.”

LePatner was also a board member of the UJA-Federation New York. In 2023, she received UJA’s Alan C. Greenberg Young Leadership Award. In presenting her with the award, Blackstone President & COO Jon Gray cited both her rapid professional rise and support of other women professionals as “she pays it forward from generation to generation.”

 In her 2023 conversation with CPE, LePatner remarked that she encouraged women to step up and embrace challenges. “Throughout my career, I’ve learned and grown the most when I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone,” she said.