Aponte vs Schwarzman

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and Blackstone.

The differences

Forbes puts Gianluigi Aponte about $2B ahead of Stephen Schwarzman.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Sep 2026.
Both started the company their money comes from.
Gianluigi Aponte is about 7 years older than Stephen Schwarzman.
Stephen Schwarzman has signed the Giving Pledge; Gianluigi Aponte has not.
Gianluigi Aponte is from Switzerland; Stephen Schwarzman is from United States.

Put someone else on either side

Aponte

Schwarzman

Net worth, Forbes: $46.8BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $44.8BForbes, 9 Sep 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $52.7BBloomberg, date not stated; $44.5BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 40Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 47Real-Time list, 9 Sep 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 2007On the Forbes World's Billionaires list in 2007 with $3.5 billion

How it started: Founded itFounded MSC in 1970 in Brussels with a single ship, after working as a ferry captain and a banker; Forbes says he and his wife Rafaela entered shipping together; Co-founded itCo-founded Blackstone in 1985 with Peter Peterson
Main source: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyBloomberg: 'Aponte's fortune is derived from closely held Mediterranean Shipping'; BlackstoneBloomberg names Blackstone (BX) stock as his biggest asset
Companies: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyMSC Mediterranean Shipping Company: Founder and executive chairman of the group; BlackstoneBlackstone: Chairman, CEO and co-founder
Biggest stake: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyStake not stated; Blackstone19% owned

Born: 1940Sorrento, Italy; 14 Feb 1947Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Country: SwitzerlandLives in Geneva, Switzerland; United StatesLives in New York, New York, United States
Education: Not statedItalian Maritime Academy (the nautical institute in his home town); Graduate degreeBA, Yale University; MBA, Harvard Business School
Parents: From a family of sailors going back more than 300 years; his father opened a hotel in Somalia and died when he was five. He began as a ferry captain in the family business; His father owned a dry-goods store in Philadelphia, one of the family's stores going back to his great-grandfather

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Signed in 2020
Foundation: MSC FoundationFounded by the Aponte family in 2018 as the MSC Group's philanthropic arm; Stephen A. Schwarzman FoundationDescribed as the primary vehicle for his giving
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $1BStephen A. Schwarzman Foundation, 22 Dec 2025. 'Over $1 billion in his lifetime so far', per his foundation; Forbes estimated more than $600 million in December 2020

Role now: Runs the companyFounder and executive chairman of the MSC Group; Runs the companyChairman and CEO of Blackstone
Successor: His son Diego Aponte (group president) and daughter Alexa Aponte (group CFO) took over ownership of MSC in the last quarter of 2025; None namedJonathan Gray is president and chief operating officer and a board member; no family members in executive roles
Public office: None found; Chairman of the President's Strategic and Policy Forum2016-2017
Legal record: None found; None found