Exclusive: Blackstone founder Steve Schwarzman picks up Wiltshire country pad for cool £80m

If you have ever driven through the countryside and imagined living in a 17th century estate, you’re not alone. 

Steve Schwarzman, the founder and chief executive of Blackstone, has bought Conholt Park, a country house with around 2500 acres of sprawling grounds and a series of cottages fashioned from the remains of an 18th century riding school, for more than £80m. 

Schwarzman, the 75-year-old American billionaire, bought the property in a personal capacity and is understood to be planning a significant restoration of the building. 

The oldest part of the estate was built in the late 17th century and subsequently expanded in the 18th and early 19th centuries. 

A person close to Schwarzman told CityAM: “Steve has always been passionate about architecture and buildings of cultural significance and heritage. He is excited about the opportunity to restore Conholt Hall to its original state.”

The purchase is understood to be personally important to Schwarzman, who as well as running the investment firm with £880bn of assets under management, is passionate about architecture and culturally significant buildings. 

The Grade II listed property was last sold in 1992 to a company owned by the family of Paul van Vlissingen, the Dutch millionaire once ranked as the richest man in Scotland. 

Schwarzman is planning substantial restoration to the building to bring it back to its original state, but is not believed to want to add any further expansions. 

The riding school and stables were both built in the late 18th century and while the school was demolished, the L-shaped stables have remained standing and are, in their own right, Grade II listed. 

The same cannot be said for all parts of the property, such as the covered swimming pool, built immediately north of the house in the late 1990s.