Nadeem Meghji

“When I think about 2025, what we saw was the continuation of what we believe is a sustained real estate recovery,” Nadeem Meghji said. On the heels of that recovery, Blackstone invested $24 billion of equity capital, and also realized $26 billion on behalf of its investors.

When it comes to the hottest of hot asset classes — data centers — Blackstone continues to maintain its crown as the world’s biggest investor.

“We have extraordinary conviction in that theme because of what’s happening with digitalization and artificial intelligence. The momentum there is only accelerating,” Meghji said. “2025 was a record year for us, and we believe 2026 will be even stronger from the standpoint of data center leasing globally.”

Blackstone came roaring onto the data center scene in 2021 with its $10 billion purchase of QTS Realty Trust — now the world’s fastest-growing data center platform. It also owns the largest data center platform in Asia, Air Trunk, and the largest powered land bank in Europe. Not long before this list went to press, Blackstone announced its joint venture with Related Digital had secured $16 billion for a data center in Saline Township, Mich., to be purpose-built for Oracle.

“I’m seeing that the incumbents with scale have a very significant advantage, because the scale of these AI deployments and what our customers need continues to increase,” Meghji said of the increasing competition in the space. “These are massive investments, and they require an exceptionally well-capitalized platform to execute. It comes down to owning powered land, having a track record of executing, having relationships with the hyperscalers, having scalable capital — both debt and equity — and understanding the business, because this is critical infrastructure for our borrowers.”

Logistics continues to be the place where Blackstone has its largest single exposure at 40 percent. “In a lot of the markets where we own warehouses, where there’s infrastructure investment or data center investment happening, we’re seeing a big uptick in demand, and last quarter was our best quarter in terms of our leasing pipeline,” Meghji said.

Blackstone is also leaning into the recovery in office. Case in point: San Francisco, driven by the AI revolution, with 60 percent of AI investment happening in the city. Blackstone acquired the 25-story office tower at 300 Howard (and leased it to AI company Anthropic) as well as the 277-key Four Seasons hotel on Market Street and Stanly Ranch resort an hour from the city.

In Las Vegas, Blackstone secured an $800 million investment from Realty Income Corporation for its 18 million-square-foot mixed-use CityCenter campus .

Despite all of the highlights, 2025 was an especially challenging year for the Blackstone team, which experienced a devastating loss in the death of senior executive Wesley LePatner. “Wesley was our dear friend and partner and was so impactful in our business, and such an exemplary leader,” Meghji said. “That was a very challenging period for our business on a human level, but it brought us closer together. We’ll never forget her, and we’ll continue to honor her memory.”