Blackstone top executive Wesley LePatner killed in mass NYC shooting. A look at her life and career

Real estate company Blackstone confirmed that one of its executives Wesley LePatner was among those killed in the July 28 mass shooting at the company’s Park Avenue office building in New York City. Wesley Lepatner, a prominent Jewish leader, was a star executive in Blackstone's real estate business. The global investment firm said that Wesley LePatner was killed in the attack, which left three other innocent victims dead including off-duty NYPD officer Didarul Islam and injured other people.

“Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed. She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond," the statement read. "She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children and family."

The statement continued: "We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD.”


Blackstone President Jon Gray referenced her "tremendous talent" when it was announced she would take leadership of the investment vehicle from former BREIT CEO Frank Cohen, who stepped down in January.

Blackstone executive killed in NYC shooting

A board member for UJA-Federation of New York and The Abraham Joshua Heschel School, Wesley LePatner was in the lobby when she was fatally struck, per The Wall Street Journal. She is listed on Blackstone’s website as a senior managing director who leads real estate investments.

Her biography on Blackstone's website mentions that LePatner was the Global Head of Core+ Real Estate and the Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) and had been with the company since 2014. She joined the company in 2014 after working for more than a decade at Goldman Sachs, where she also handled real estate.

She began her career in the firm’s Real Estate Principal Investment Area and Investment Banking Group. At Blackstone, LePatner played a central role in expanding the firm’s core-plus real estate strategy, which includes investments in rental housing, data centers, and logistics assets. Earlier this year, she was appointed CEO of BREIT, a real estate investment trust.

According to Fortune, LePatner was Blackstone’s Global Head of Core+ Real Estate and managed a property fund having nearly $53 billion in net assets and a $275 billion market cap.

LePatner also held a seat on Blackstone Real Estate’s Investment Committee and previously served as Chief Operating Officer of the firm’s Core+ business and of BREIT. In 2023, she was honored at a UJA-Federation event.

A Yale University graduate with a BA in History, LePatner was deeply involved in civic and cultural organizations. She held board positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Abraham Joshua Heschel School, the UJA-Federation of New York, and the Yale University Library Council. Additionally, she served on the Advisory Board of Governors of NAREIT, the premier association for real estate investment trusts.

Wesley LePatner's husband, Evan LePatner, is a partner at private equity firm Courizon, accoridng to a HT report. The two met each other during their freshman year at Yale University.

They got married in 2006 and share two children together. Wesley was residing with her family in a 7-million-dollar apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

In a statement issued after her passing, she was praised for her intelligence, passion, and warmth. Wesley was called a “beloved member of the Blackstone family”.