[5] Schwarzman's first business was a lawn-mowing operation when he was 14 years old, employing his younger twin brothers, Mark and Warren, to mow while Stephen brought in clients.

[11] Schwarzman's first job in financial services was with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, an investment bank that merged with Credit Suisse in 2000.

After business school, Schwarzman worked at the investment bank Lehman Brothers, became a managing director at age 31, and then head of global mergers and acquisitions.

"[25] In September 2011, Schwarzman was listed as a member of the international advisory board of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

[31][32] In 2012, Obama called Schwarzman and requested his assistance in brokering a budget agreement with Republicans in congress to avoid a fiscal cliff.

He identified as center-right and said the eventual GOP nominee should appeal to independent voters, not the right wing of the Republican Party.

[35] In early 2016, he said that in a two-candidate race he would prefer Donald Trump to Ted Cruz, saying that the nation needed a "cohesive, healing presidency, not one that's lurching either to the right or to the left.

The group, which includes JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Walt Disney boss Bob Iger and former General Electric leader Jack Welch, became Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.

[1] In private, Schwarzman called the January 6 United States Capitol attack an "insurrection" and "an affront to the democratic values we hold dear".

[27] In December 2018, non-profit consumer advocacy organisation Public Citizen published a report titled: "'Self-Funded' Trump Now Propped Up By Super PAC Megadonors."

[46] In 2022, Schwarzman indicated that he would not support the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign, providing in a statement to Axios that it was "time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders.

[57]: 108  Since its inception, the program has maintained ties to the United Front Work Department as well as other organizations and personnel affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.

After the public learned about the deal, a new agreement was made and Schwarzman removed several of the conditions for his donation, including renaming the school.

[69][70] In October 2020, Schwarzman pledged to give $8 million to the USA Track and Field Foundation in the run-up to the 2021 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics.

[72] Schwarzman married his first wife Ellen Philips in 1971, a trustee of Northwestern University and the Mount Sinai Medical Center.

[73] Schwarzman married Christine Hearst in 1995, an intellectual property lawyer who grew up on Long Island, New York.

[78][79] In 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported on the vast water consumption of wealthy Palm Beach residents during exceptional drought conditions.

[85] In 2019, Schwarzman wrote his first book titled, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, "which draws from his experiences in business, philanthropy and public service."

[87] In 2024, Schwarzman was created by King Charles III an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for services to philanthropy.