The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) have released a new report that documents rent hikes and increased evictions by the private equity firm The Blackstone Group. Blackstone now owns and manages over 300,000 units of rental housing in the U.S., making it the largest landlord in the U.S.
In 2021, Blackstone bought 5,600 housing units in San Diego County where rents had been affordable to lower income tenants. As units in San Diego County become vacant, Blackstone has raised rents in some units 43% higher than it was just two years ago.
Blackstone also has a history of spending millions of dollars to oppose rent control in California. The company gave over $7 million in 2018 and more than $7 million in 2020 to fight against the ballot initiatives.
Blackstone founder and CEO Stephen Schwartzman received $1.3 billion in compensation last year.
