Blackstone’s Jon Gray gains LinkedIn following with running videos
The firm’s president has turned brief jogging clips into a low-cost way to reach clients, investors and a wider business audience.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Blackstone president and chief operating officer Jonathan Gray has built a large LinkedIn audience with short videos filmed while he runs, Fortune reported. The clips show how senior executives are using social platforms to speak directly to clients, shareholders and employees.
Gray, 56, is widely viewed as a likely successor to Blackstone cofounder and CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman, according to Fortune. Blackstone oversees about $1 trillion and is ranked No. 321 on the Fortune 500, Fortune reported.
One January video showed Gray jogging through snow in Central Park during frigid weather in New York City. In the 42-second clip, he compared difficult running conditions with investing, saying that conditions are not always ideal and that investors should stay focused, Fortune reported. The post drew 2.7 million views, according to Fortune.
A low-production format finds an audience
Gray has posted nearly 50 running videos over the past year, Fortune reported. Blackstone told Fortune that his LinkedIn posts typically draw nearly 440,000 impressions, and that his videos average more than 100,000 views. A travel montage from several European cities reached 5.9 million views, according to Blackstone figures cited by Fortune.
The videos often combine travel, exercise and quick comments on markets, technology or investing. Fortune reported that Gray has filmed posts from cities including Amsterdam and Paris, and from Bhutan, where he discussed “gross domestic happiness.”
Gray told Fortune the project was not designed as a major campaign. He described himself as an “accidental influencer” and said he initially resisted suggestions from Christine Anderson, Blackstone’s global head of corporate affairs, that he should post videos.
Gray said his first attempts were more formal posts tied to speeches and events, and that they received limited reaction. During a 2025 business trip to Sydney, he tried a looser format based on videos he had been sending to his wife and four daughters from the road, Fortune reported. A brief post filmed near the Sydney Opera House generated strong engagement from LinkedIn users, according to Fortune.
Blackstone sees a communications tool
Anderson told Fortune that Gray’s videos work partly because they look unscripted. She said the firm does not give him coaching sessions, prep calls or a list of talking points before he records. Gray usually films himself with his phone, though relatives, friends or colleagues sometimes help, Fortune reported.
The videos still go through Blackstone’s communications review process because the firm is in finance, Fortune reported. Gray said the legal review usually takes a few hours and that the format costs little because he would often be running anyway.
Gray told Fortune that clients frequently mention the videos in meetings. He has also filmed with other business figures, including Lazard CEO Peter Orszag during a trip to South Florida, according to Fortune.
The format has also shaped Blackstone’s own media work. Anderson told Fortune that Gray often records more formal earnings explainers in a few takes, with filming usually taking seven to 10 minutes. Gray said more polished studio videos often reach fewer people than the running clips and may attract less attention than television appearances.
Executive social media grows
Gray’s rise comes as more top executives maintain public social media profiles. H/Advisors Abernathy reported that in 2025, more than two-thirds of Fortune 100 CEOs had at least one social media account, and 71% of those CEOs posted at least monthly. The firm said that marked a 37% increase in activity from the previous year.
LinkedIn editor-in-chief Daniel Roth told Fortune that leaders such as Gray are drawing attention because audiences want executive voices that feel direct. Timothy Pollock, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, entrepreneurship professor, told Fortune that business leaders increasingly receive attention similar to public figures in sports and entertainment.
Gray told Fortune he expects to keep making the videos for now. If viewers tire of the running format, he said, he and Blackstone will find another approach.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.