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Why Blackstone’s Verdun Perry is no longer embarrassed about the borrowed suit he wore to his first job interview

Today he is the global head of Blackstone Strategic Partners, overseeing one of the largest secondary fund managers, with $68bn of assets under management

Verdun Perry was raised in 'a pretty rough neighbourhood' in inner-city Philadelphia
Verdun Perry was raised in 'a pretty rough neighbourhood' in inner-city Philadelphia

When Verdun Perry had his first job interview, he borrowed a friend’s suit. And it wasn’t just the suit. He borrowed the shirt. And the tie. And the watch too.

“The unfortunate thing was that my friend was built like a rugby player and I weighed 155 pounds, and I looked silly walking across campus to interview for an internship on Wall Street in a suit that was probably three times too big for me.”

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