Wesley LePatner, a Blackstone executive with Roslyn ties, was among those killed in Monday’s mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan, which claimed five lives.
LePatner served as the global head of core+ real estate and the chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and is remembered by colleagues as “brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond,” Blackstone wrote in a statement to amNewYork.
According to reports, LePatner was hiding behind a pillar in the lobby of 345 Park Ave., when the 27-year-old gunman, Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, shot and killed her.
“We are heartbroken to share that our colleague, Wesley LePatner, was among those who lost their lives in the tragic incident at 345 Park Ave.. Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed,” Blackstone’s statement reads. “Our prayers are with her husband, children and family. We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD.”
The gunman shot himself in the chest after killing NYPD officer Didarul Islam, LePatner, and two other civilians.
Before becoming CEO of BREIT, LePatner served as chief operating officer of Blackstone’s core+ business. She joined Blackstone in 2014 following more than a decade at Goldman Sachs, where she was a managing director in the real estate investment group within the asset management division, according to her profile page on Blackstone. She began her career at Goldman in its real estate investment banking group and real estate principal investment area.
LePatner, who lived in Manhattan, graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University with a degree in history.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, LePatner was deeply involved in civic and cultural organizations. She served on the boards of the UJA-Federation of New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, and the Yale University Library Council. She was also a member of the advisory board of Governors of NAREIT.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of Wesley LePatner, a beloved member of UJA’s community and a member of our board of directors, who was killed in yesterday’s mass shooting in Midtown,” a Tuesday statement from the UJA-Federation of New York, a Jewish philanthropy and advocacy organization.
UJA honored LePatner with the Alan C. Greenberg Young Leadership Award in 2023. The statement noted that LePatner led a mission to Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
“She lived with courage and conviction, instilling in her two children a deep love for Judaism and the Jewish people,” the statement reads.
LePatner served as a board member at the Heschel School, a Jewish day school near Lincoln Square.
In a statement to the Heschel community Tuesday morning, Head of School Ariela Dubler and President of the Board of Trustees Ben Archibald described LePatner as a “uniquely brilliant and modest leader and parent, filled with wisdom, empathy, vision, and appreciation.”
“There are no right words for this unfathomable moment of pain and loss. It was a rare z’chut, a rare privilege, to know Wesley and to learn from her,” Dubler and Archibald wrote. “Quite simply, Wesley made the world – and all of the institutions that she touched, including the Heschel School – a better place. We are all diminished today by her absence. We will hold her lessons close, learn from her actions and commitments, and honor her memory with our own deeds.”
LePatner is survived by her husband, Evan, and her two children.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that LePatner was from Roslyn. LePatner had Roslyn ties, but lived elsewhere.
This story originally appeared on LongIslandPress’ sister site, amNY.com.
