One of the victims killed in a midtown Manhattan shooting spree on Monday was a prominent Blackstone executive leading the investment firm’s real estate megafund, it has been revealed.
Wesley LePatner, 43, was among the four people killed by a gunman who stormed the Park Avenue building where she worked, Blackstone confirmed.
LePatner was killed in the lobby of the building, where the shooter also killed an off-duty NYPD officer who was working as building security. She does not appear to have been specifically targeted by the shooter.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the gunman appeared to have grievances with the NFL and was targeting the headquarters of the football league, which shares a building with Blackstone’s main office. The NYPD says the shooter, 27-year-old Shane Tamura, was killed by police.
LePatner was a rising star at Blackstone, playing a key role in the investment firm’s $325 billion real estate business.
After joining the firm in 2014, she became global head of Blackstone’s $115 billion Core+ Real Estate business, focused on low-risk real estate investments worldwide—typically properties that are already income-generating and in good condition.
Within the Core+ strategy, she was also CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), the firm’s commercial real estate megafund targeting individual investors.
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As of March, financial disclosures show BREIT had more than $53 billion in assets under management, making it one of the largest such real estate investment trusts globally.
“Words cannot express the devastation we feel that our beloved colleague, Wesley LePatner, was among those who lost their lives in the tragic incident yesterday,” Blackstone said in a statement. “We are also deeply saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims, including brave security personnel and NYPD.”
The firm added: “Wesley was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children, parents and family.”
Although Blackstone is among the largest owners of residential rental properties in the U.S., the investment strategies LePatner oversaw were primarily related to commercial real estate.
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However, BREIT does have an ownership interest in nearly 275,000 residential rental units worldwide, according to CNBC.
In the U.S., Blackstone owns approximately 58,000 single-family rental homes, primarily managed under its Tricon Residential platform, which it acquired in 2024.
Blackstone has said it owns less than 1% of the 46 million rental homes available across the country.