Blackstone CEO predicts the energy crisis will worsen inflation and prompt social unrest

Blackstone CEO predicts the energy crisis will worsen inflation and prompt social unrest

The global energy crisis is severe enough that it could fuel social unrest, said the CEO of asset management company Blackstone on Monday. Stephen Schwarzman was speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia. Schwarzman, who is also co-founder of the investment firm, said: "We're going to end up with a real shortage of energy. And when you have a shortage, it's just going to cost more and it's probably going to cost a lot more," as reported by and When that happens, "you're going to get very unhappy people around the world," particularly in the emerging markets, he continued. Oil prices have surged this year on the back of a and are up 75% year-to-date, around $85 a barrel – and they could gain more, pushing up energy prices and everything else downstream. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, also spoke at the conference. He told the audience there was a reasonable chance oil prices would reach $100 a barrel, reported. "Inflation, we are in a new regime," he said. "There are many structural reasons for that. Short-term policy related to environmentalism, in terms of restricting the supply of hydrocarbons, has created