David Blitzer first appeared on the FN100 list in 2008, when he was head of private equity giant Blackstone Group's European operations. In the years since, a relocation to the US has afforded him the opportunity to acquire his favourite basketball team.

Blitzer is a Blackstone veteran, having joined the group in 1991, and was 38 years old when he appeared on Financial News's annual list of the most influential people in the European financial markets. At the time he was based in London, from where he had helped build the buyout firm's European business from scratch.