Anthony F. Marone, Jr.
About Anthony F. Marone, Jr.
Anthony F. Marone, Jr. is Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT) since March 2021; age 42 as of March 11, 2025; Managing Director at Blackstone and Head of Real Estate Finance Americas; and also CFO of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT). He holds a BS and MBA from Rutgers University and is a CPA and CGMA; prior roles include Vice President and Controller at Capital Trust (predecessor to BXMT) and PwC’s Real Estate Assurance practice . BREIT does not disclose executive pay/performance metrics such as TSR, revenue growth, or EBITDA growth tied to Mr. Marone’s compensation; executives are paid by Blackstone, not BREIT . At the entity level, BREIT’s adviser economics are performance-linked through a 12.5% allocation of “Total Return” subject to a 5% hurdle and high-water mark, which indirectly shapes management incentives .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackstone Real Estate | Managing Director; Head of Real Estate Finance Americas | 2012–present | Leads financing strategy across Americas real estate; senior finance oversight supporting BREIT operations |
| Capital Trust, Inc. (predecessor to BXMT) | Vice President and Controller | Prior to 2012 | Built financial controls and reporting foundation for mortgage platform that evolved into BXMT |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP | Real Estate Assurance | Prior to Capital Trust | Audit/assurance expertise in real estate, strengthening technical GAAP/SEC reporting capabilities |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT) | Chief Financial Officer | Current (start date not disclosed) | Cross-platform finance leadership; potential synergies in real estate debt and reporting across Blackstone platforms |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | BREIT Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by BREIT; executives are compensated by Blackstone, not BREIT |
| Target bonus % / actual bonus | Not disclosed; BREIT does not pay or reimburse executive compensation |
| Pension/SERP | BREIT does not provide pension/retirement benefits to executive officers |
| Perquisites | BREIT does not provide perquisites; executives are employees of the Adviser or affiliates |
| Deferred compensation | None disclosed for executive officers |
| Director compensation (context) | Independent directors receive $90,000 cash + $200,000 restricted stock annual retainer; chairs receive additional fees |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive incentives from BREIT | None; executives receive compensation from Blackstone, not BREIT | — | — | — | — | — |
Adviser fee structure influencing executive incentives:
| Component | Definition | Scale/Terms | Recent Amounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management Fee | Paid to Adviser; 1.25% per annum of monthly NAV of Class T/S/D/I/C shares and corresponding OP units (excludes Class F) | Accrued monthly; payable in cash/shares/OP units | 2024 management fees $713.6M; 51.2M OP units issued as payment; $56.4M payable at 12/31/2024; 4.1M OP units issued in Jan-2025 against accrual |
| Performance Participation | Allocation to Blackstone SLP of 12.5% of Total Return with 5% Hurdle, High Water Mark, and Catch-Up; measured quarterly, accrued monthly | Includes distributions + NAV change (excl. issuance proceeds; before fee accruals/servicing fees) | 2022 Quarterly Shortfall $74.9M plus $4.8M interest satisfied with Q1’24 accrual; 2024 Quarterly Shortfall $105.0M (net of $9.9M) recorded as receivable; 1.1M Class I OP units ($15.4M) issued toward Q1’24 accrual |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (shares) | 10,830 Class I shares |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | <1% (3,651,641,363 shares outstanding as of Mar 28, 2025) |
| Vested vs unvested shares | Not disclosed for executive officers |
| Options (exercisable/unexercisable) | BREIT does not grant stock options; no executive equity plan disclosures |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Apply to independent directors (5x cash retainer within 5 years); executives not covered |
| Compliance with ownership guidelines | All non-employee directors in compliance; executive status not applicable |
| Hedging/insider trading policy | No company hedging policy at this time; trading in BREIT securities requires pre-clearance by Blackstone Legal & Compliance |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employment start date | CFO & Treasurer since March 2021 |
| Employment agreements | None with BREIT; executives are employees of Adviser/affiliates |
| Severance provisions | None from BREIT for executive officers |
| Change-of-control provision | None from BREIT for executive officers |
| Non-compete / non-solicit | Not disclosed |
| Time commitment | Advisory Agreement does not require executives to dedicate specific time solely to BREIT |
| Indemnification | BREIT has indemnification agreements with directors and officers; advances expenses subject to conditions |
| Advisory Agreement term | Renewed Mar 6, 2025; one-year term expiring Mar 31, 2026; termination rights for cause or upon notice |
Performance & Track Record
- BREIT does not disclose Mr. Marone-specific TSR, revenue, or EBITDA performance metrics; executive pay is not paid by BREIT .
- Entity-level disclosure controls and internal controls are overseen by Audit Committee; Deloitte has provided unqualified opinions since 2016 .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- BREIT is externally managed; Compensation Committee duties include potential CEO pay oversight if applicable and director pay review; independent committee members; committee engaged Ferguson Partners Consulting L.P. and paid $30,000 for peer benchmarking of independent director compensation .
- Executive officers receive no compensation from BREIT; Adviser compensation (management fee and performance participation) reviewed annually by independent directors for reasonableness .
Related Party Transactions (incentives context)
- Management fee: 1.25% of NAV; $713.6M incurred in 2024; OP units issued for fees .
- Performance participation: 12.5% of Total Return subject to 5% Hurdle and High Water Mark with catch-up; Quarterly Shortfalls tracked with 5% interest and clawback-like obligation .
- Stockholder servicing fees: $177.1M paid in 2024; non-employee director restricted stock grants vest in ~1 year .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- No hedging policy at the company level; trades require pre-clearance, but lack of an explicit hedging prohibition may reduce alignment quality versus peers with anti-hedging policies .
- Executive officers have no employment agreements, severance, or change-of-control protections from BREIT; time dedication to BREIT not contractually specified under Advisory Agreement, implying potential time-allocation/execution risk across Blackstone platforms .
- CFO dual-role at BXMT may create competing priorities; BREIT’s governance relies on Adviser structure and board oversight to mitigate conflicts .
- Executive beneficial ownership is small (<1%), which limits direct equity alignment at BREIT for Mr. Marone .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance signals for BREIT’s executives are indirect, flowing through Adviser economics: 1.25% NAV-based fee plus a 12.5% share of Total Return with a 5% hurdle and high-water mark. This design aligns incentives to preserve/grow NAV and distributions but can also encourage fee scale from AUM growth; monitor performance participation accruals and shortfalls as near-term pressure indicators .
- Mr. Marone’s direct BREIT equity stake is small and BREIT does not compensate him; alignment rests on Blackstone-level incentives and reputational capital. The absence of employment/severance/change-of-control terms at BREIT reduces disclosure on retention risk; however, indemnification exists and dual roles suggest Blackstone career anchoring .
- Governance oversight is robust via independent committees, Deloitte audits, and formal affiliate transaction reviews; nonetheless, lack of an explicit anti-hedging policy is a governance gap vs best practices and should be engaged in investor dialogues .