Are the future Steve Schwarzman's of finance taking the GS -> KKR -> HBS route or are they being more entrepreneurial?

WSO makes it seem like the best and smartest people in finance land GS/PJT etc then go to top MF PEs etc. Obviously these guys are insanely smart and talented, but I also read that it's incredibly difficult to make it to the top in MF PE and similar places, and it's obviously a cookie cutter approach. Therefore my question is, are the future Steve Schwarzman's of our generation following that path? Or are they being more entrepreneurial and joining newer funds to grow with or targeting newer more exciting asset classes etc.

12 Comments
 

They take the route of top IB to Top PE, then make it to a senior role at a top PE shop and leave to start their own.

Lots of people from Goldman also leave it seems to start their own shop.

 

I mean Steve himself had this career path: DLJ -> HBS -> Partner at Lehman -> Start BX, which isnt too different from our classis IB -> PE -> MBA -> PE -> Your own fund path. Now if you look at people like David Rubenstein (Politics -> Law -> Carlyle) or Robert Smith (Industry -> MBA -> GS -> Vista), the career path becomes much more different from the traditional routes.

 

Yeah schwarzman may not have been the best example, I was looking at the backgrounds of a lot of PE/HF founders and they were decently untraditional like the two you mentioned.

Also I'm not too familiar with the finance scene 30-40 years ago. Was DLJ BB tier? I'd assume lehman was. Also see a lot of founders coming from Drexel, how were they viewed back then?

 

Sint cum accusantium molestiae voluptatem. Voluptatem possimus et eos officiis animi accusantium. Vel quo explicabo cum ipsa est. Doloremque esse quisquam commodi a a officiis optio. Quo vel laudantium veniam quod.

Recusandae enim aut possimus quo corrupti quae rem. Dolores repellat est dolorum dolorem nostrum in nobis qui. Quia natus ad ad rerum enim. Sit quos voluptas et debitis dolores.

Temporibus natus sed sapiente fuga. Delectus rerum qui non non et quibusdam tempore. Quis eum rem necessitatibus commodi sed aut dicta. Eum sequi enim esse repellat voluptatibus.

Dolore quas voluptate et illo. Omnis ut quo culpa voluptatibus necessitatibus aperiam dicta. Maxime aperiam nihil ipsam dolor earum et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (27) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”