Tony James is an internationally recognized investor and leader in global finance, having served for many years as president and chief operating officer of The Blackstone Group, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, which has approximately $1 trillion in assets under management. In that role, he oversaw businesses and operations in all major countries throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. He will discuss the challenges, opportunities and direction of global finance and business in 2026 and beyond in a conversation with DMA member John Craft.
Tony is currently chairman of Jefferson River Capital, a private investment group. He also serves as chairman of the board of Costco Wholesale Corporation, the world’s third largest retailer, co-chair of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, chairman of the finance committee of Mount Sinai Hospital System, and chairman and co-founder of Ed Advancement, which provides critical infrastructure support to historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) and serves two-thirds of all HBCU students. Tony was appointed by President Joe Biden to be a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, has served as commissioner of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and continues to serve on numerous other charitable, corporate, and public sector boards. He co-authored Rescuing Retirement, a book proposing a solution to America’s looming retirement crisis, and has published numerous articles in The Wall Street Journal and other major publications. He graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude as a John Harvard Scholar and from Harvard Business School with an M.B.A. as a Baker Scholar.
John Craft graduated from Princeton University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received an M.B.A. degree. e spent 20 years in the institutional fixed income business with Bankers Trust and Merrill Lynch and subsequently co-founded a technology start-up that developed internet-based applications for the bond market. John arranged the presentation.
Summary
Tony James, in a presentation styled as an interview by DMA Community Service Chairman John Craft, delivered a sweeping and provocative discussion of the forces reshaping global business, finance, technology and geopolitics in 2026. Introduced as one of the world’s most influential investors and former president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, Tony framed the modern era as one of extraordinary acceleration driven largely by artificial intelligence.
He described AI as transformational but deeply disruptive, warning that society is unprepared for its implications. Tony expressed concern that while AI may dramatically increase productivity and economic growth, it could also displace millions of knowledge workers, leaving many people without a sense of purpose or contribution. Tony opined that governments are moving far too slowly to confront these challenges, while technology companies are compelled to race ahead to meet fierce global competition. He compared today’s AI boom to earlier technological revolutions such as canals and railroads — innovations that transformed society but often failed to produce sustainable profits for investors because competition and rapid obsolescence overwhelmed returns.
Tony also explored the geopolitical risks surrounding China and Taiwan, describing Taiwan as the world’s most critical semiconductor hub. He warned that a Chinese takeover or destruction of Taiwan’s chip production capacity could trigger a severe global economic depression. He emphasized that the United States is attempting to deter conflict not necessarily by military superiority, but by creating enough uncertainty in President Xi Jinping’s mind to prevent aggression.
Regarding the U.S. economy, Tony warned that mounting federal debt and entitlement spending pose long-term dangers, though America still benefits enormously from the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency. He suggested AI-driven productivity gains might help offset these fiscal pressures, much as the internet boom unexpectedly strengthened government finances in the late 1990s.
Tony concluded with praise for Costco, where he has served for decades as chairman or lead director. He described Costco’s success as being rooted in relentless pursuit of customer trust, long-term thinking, operational discipline and an obsessive focus on delivering long-term value rather than maximizing short-term profits.