Blackstone's Jon Gray Urges Gen Z Analysts to Think Like Founders as Acceptance Rate Falls Below 0.1%
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Jul 22
Blackstone's Jon Gray Urges Gen Z Analysts to Think Like Founders as Acceptance Rate Falls Below 0.1%
2 articles · Updated · Fortune · Jul 22
Summary
Blackstone president Jon Gray told the firm’s newest analysts to act like “agents of change,” urging a startup-style mindset even inside a $1.3 trillion asset manager.
Gray said Blackstone’s growth since its 1985 founding came from preserving the nimble, entrepreneurial culture it had as a small business while scaling globally.
Less than 0.1% of applicants made Blackstone’s 2026 analyst class, down from 0.4% in 2021, underscoring how fiercely Gen Z is competing for elite entry-level roles.
AI is tightening that market—one-third of employers are replacing some entry-level jobs, a recruiter survey found—even as the technology lowers barriers to launching new companies.
That helps explain why 43% of Gen Z is considering starting a business in 2026; Gray’s message aligns with advice from Jeff Bezos to learn inside top companies before striking out alone.