STEPHEN SCHWARZMAN

Republican presidential prospects are courting anxious donors and activists in Las Vegas , as the GOP's early 2024 class warns that former President Donald Trump is “a loser” and the party needs to turn elsewhere.

Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman said he won't help Donald Trump during the 2024 primary for president.

U.S. executives and billionaire investors are mingling and making deals at a conference nicknamed "Davos in the Desert," even as the White House reevaluates relations with Saudi Arabia.

Even with a few caveats, compensation at buyout firms exploded in 2021.

The traditional fund manager is competing as much with Blackstone as BlackRock these days.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)ATLANTA – The Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs don't take place until Jan. 5. And President Donald Trump has complicated the contest by claiming baselessly that the November election in Georgia was beset by fraud. Already, $329 million in advertising has been spent or reserved in the state since Election Day, according to data from the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG. While Biden’s campaign ran operations in Georgia until the Nov. 3 election, Senate Democrats’ campaign arm is in charge now. “People are very inspired by the Stacey Abrams magic,” said Michael Smith, a Los Angeles donor who has given to several groups raising money for the Georgia Democrats.

Putting an end to surprise medical billing is one of the White House's top health-care priorities this spring, along with cutting prescription drug prices. At the White House, officials worry that patients are increasingly getting walloped by surprise medical bills. Standing up for voters who are grappling with high medical bills also plays well at the polls. "Rate setting stalled because surprise medical bills can't be fixed with doctor shortages, hospital closures, and loss of access to care." As for Schwarzman himself, there's no word on whether he discussed surprise billing with anyone at the White House during his recent visit.

Brendan McDermid | ReutersU.S. stock futures were pointing to a lower open on Tuesday, with global stocks from Asia to Europe under pressure. For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 were nearly 2% higher, while the Nasdaq's weekly gain was over 2%. Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday morning addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and touted his "America First" agenda. Billionaire investors talk markets from DavosStephen Schwarzman, CEO, Blackstone, interviewed at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 21, 2020. Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones from Davos said the "crazy" U.S. stock market run lately reminds him of early 1999, right before the dotcom bubble burst.

Rather than implementing a wealth tax, the U.S. should be focusing its efforts on fixing "income insufficiency," said Stephen Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder of investment powerhouse Blackstone. "I think we've got a problem in our society, and part of that is what I call income insufficiency, rather than income inequality," he added. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., another 2020 contender, also has proposed a wealth tax. Warren also wants to put a 6% tax on household net worth over $1 billion. The wealth tax proposed by Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, would be progressive, starting at 1% for household net worth of more than $32 million and ending at 8% on wealth over $10 billion.

Now, he's sharing what it takes to be a success in his book "What It Takes." But how did the son of a shopkeeper from Philadelphia become the confidant of heads of state? "Fifty years later, if there's an important meeting, I am on the edge of my chair and my back is completely straight," Schwarzman said. But that's OK, he said, because it's all about anticipating what can go wrong and heading it off at the pass. "You look at every major decision from the perspective of not what goes right but what goes wrong, what can hurt this?