Even as global headlines remain dominated by geopolitical flashpoints, financial markets are choosing to look past the noise, driven instead by a powerful cocktail of artificial intelligence-led investment, massive data centre expansion and an emerging boom in electricity infrastructure. That was the clear message from Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18 at the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Schwarzman said conversations in Davos so far suggest that global investors are far more focused on structural economic forces than unresolved geopolitical risks ranging from West Asia to Latin America and even Greenland. “There are more questions than answers,” he said, noting that while geopolitical developments are moving rapidly, they have had “surprisingly” little impact on markets.
Why markets are unfazed by geopolitical risks
Schwarzman believes markets are largely ignoring geopolitical volatility because none of the major issues have reached a point of resolution that would materially alter economic outcomes. Instead, investors are anchoring their decisions around powerful growth drivers, particularly in the United States.
While comparisons are being drawn to periods of deep global fragmentation, including the post-1945 era, Schwarzman argued that the current environment is fundamentally different. “It’s not quite 1945,” he said, pointing to economic forces that are overwhelming geopolitical concerns rather than being derailed by them.
AI and hyperscalers powering US growth
At the heart of this optimism is the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and the scale of investment flowing into digital infrastructure. Schwarzman highlighted that the US economy grew 4.3% in the most recent quarter—an extraordinary outcome for a mature, high-income economy.
“This is almost never happened in decades,” he said, noting that while India can deliver higher percentage growth due to its lower base, sustained 4% plus growth in the US is highly unusual.
A large share of that momentum, Schwarzman explained, is being driven by hyperscalers—global technology giants investing aggressively in data, social media and AI capabilities. “Probably three-quarters of the growth in the United States is from the building of data centres,” he said.
Electricity emerges as the next big bottleneck
The surge in data centre construction is now spilling over into another critical area: electricity. After nearly two decades of stagnant power demand, the US is now facing a potential electricity shortfall as AI workloads and digital infrastructure scale up.
“For data centres to keep being built, you need electricity,” Schwarzman said, adding that this is setting the stage for a significant expansion of the power grid. Estimates suggest electricity demand could grow 5–6% annually, a sharp reversal from the flat growth seen over the past 20 years.
The implication is clear: the electric grid will require massive investment. “The whole electric grid is going to need massive expansion—50% type expansion at a minimum,” Schwarzman said, with some projections pointing to even higher requirements.
Where Blackstone is placing its bets
Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, is already deeply positioned to benefit from these shifts. Schwarzman said the firm is both the largest builder and the largest owner of data centres globally, while also being a major investor in the modernisation and expansion of electricity infrastructure.
“As investors, being in these two areas with increased concentration has turned out to be a simply wonderful outcome,” he said.
Beyond infrastructure, Schwarzman struck an optimistic note on the broader investment cycle. With interest rates coming down in the US and Europe, fundraising conditions are improving after a difficult period for private equity following the post-pandemic rate shock.
Blackstone now manages close to $1.3 trillion in assets, including around $500 billion in private credit, a business that continues to grow at a strong pace. Real estate, private equity and credit, Schwarzman said, are all entering a more favourable phase of the cycle.
Big picture: markets following fundamentals, not headlines
Taken together, Schwarzman’s comments offer a clear explanation for why markets remain resilient despite geopolitical uncertainty. Investors are betting that the AI-led transformation of the global economy—backed by unprecedented investment in data centres and power infrastructure—will continue to drive growth.
For now, fundamentals are trumping fear, and capital is flowing towards the technologies and infrastructure shaping the next phase of economic expansion.
Below is the excerpt of the interview.
Q: What’s the big takeaway from Davos so far?
Schwarzman: Davos is just starting. It started last night, so you’re catching me around noon in Davos, and most people aren’t questioning the global economy and how it’s doing. They’re more interested in the geopolitical stuff that’s going on—whether it’s Iran or Venezuela or Greenland, or other types of things that keep happening with real rapidity. No one has answers to any of those things—more questions than answers. Like many things, time gives you the answers, but surprisingly, most of those issues haven’t had a huge impact on markets at this point.
Q: You talked about time, and I want to understand from you—40 years of doing this at Blackstone and building out Blackstone for 21 years in India. Many people compare what we are seeing today in the world to earlier periods. In fact, Borge Brende, the president of the World Economic Forum, believes that this goes back almost to 1945—the geo-economic and geopolitical fragmentation that we’re seeing. Why do you think the markets are not reacting to the volatility in the headlines?
Schwarzman: I think the markets aren’t reacting because, first, there are some economic things going on that appear to be overwhelming some of those geopolitical issues, and the geopolitical issues themselves aren’t resolved. So it’s not quite 1945. On the economic side, the advent of artificial intelligence and its future impact and changes has created—not really euphoria—but solid economic growth in the United States, which is the world’s biggest economy by far. We grew 4.3% in the last quarter. Now, by Indian standards, that’s not much. But on the other hand, we’ve got a GDP per capita probably around $70,000, and India has about $3,000. So it’s easier for India to have a bigger percentage growth, but for us to be growing 4% plus—that’s almost never happened in decades.
It’s the impact of massive expenditures by what are called the hyperscalers. They’re big companies that are all-in on data, social media, and other types of activities, spending at unprecedented rates. Probably three-quarters of the growth in the United States is from the building of data centres. Now there’s going to be a big boom in electricity because the US is really short of electricity, and for data centres to keep being built, you need electricity. That’s creating even more economic growth.
That doesn’t totally explain why European markets are up, but in the US, something magical is happening with technology and what people think is going to happen in the future.
Q: In your words, if you believe that something magical is happening on the back of technology in the US, what would you be long on in light of this?
Schwarzman: In point of fact, we have a point of view. Blackstone is the largest builder of data centres in the world, and we’re also the largest owner of data centres. We’re a huge investor in the modernisation and growth of the electric grid. For example, unlike India, we’ve had no growth in electricity in 20 years, and we’re now going to start running short. We’re going into a world where most people think you’ll have 5–6% growth. By Indian standards, that’s not that much, but if for 20 years you haven’t grown at all, that increase is very substantial.
The whole electric grid is going to need massive expansion—50% type expansion at a minimum. Some people think much higher. As investors, being in these two areas with increased concentration has turned out to be a simply wonderful outcome.
Q: I would imagine so. We continue to see billions of dollars being poured into the build-out on the AI infrastructure side. But you said once recently that you believe we’re in a supercycle of fundraising. Do you believe that will continue to be the case in 2026?
Schwarzman: In terms of fundraising, it was a little tougher in the private equity area over the last few years when interest rates went up quite high in the West because of inflation after the pandemic. That trapped people who had bought deals near the top. Then interest rates went up, and all of a sudden you couldn’t sell things, so it was not a good time. But interest rates are coming down. In the United States, they’ve already come down, and in Europe as well, and that’s going to start the cycle again.
Other parts of what we do at Blackstone—credit, for example, private credit—we now have $500 billion just in private credit. Our firm is increasingly close to $1.3 trillion—that’s with a “T.”
I remember when we started with no assets, so this is actually pretty remarkable. We have some of these large businesses growing at 20% a year. These are very nicely profitable businesses for us.
We’re moving into a cycle now, because finance is somewhat cyclical, where the kinds of businesses we’re in—whether it’s real estate (we’re the largest commercial owner of real estate in India)—that kind of business is coming back. Private equity fundamentals are changing positively, and private credit is already doing really well. So it’s a very good time for us.
Watch accompanying video for entire conversation.