<description>&lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="98"&gt;We talk all the time about private credit. And we increasingly talk about it from the perspective of the AI buildout, and how all of these datacenters are being financed. But why did the space get so big in the first place, and what does its history indicate for the future of the asset class? On this episode, we speak with Michael Zawadzki, the Global CIO for Blackstone Credit and Insurance. Michael&amp;rsquo;s been with the firm since 2006, and built its private credit from the ground up. He talks about what it took to succeed in the space, the advantages that accrue to large players, and why private credit has played such an important role in financing AI infrastructure.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="778"&gt;Read more:&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-22/private-credit-firms-push-new-funds-in-bid-to-tap-retiree-money?utm_medium=referral&amp;amp;utm_source=podcast&amp;amp;utm_campaign=odd_lots&amp;amp;utm_content=article" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;Private Credit Firms Push New Funds in Bid to Tap Retiree Money&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-22/blackrock-s-hps-makes-its-first-asia-investment-after-merger?utm_medium=referral&amp;amp;utm_source=podcast&amp;amp;utm_campaign=odd_lots&amp;amp;utm_content=article" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;BlackRock&amp;rsquo;s HPS Makes Its First Asia Investment After Merger&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="915"&gt;Only &lt;a href="http://bloomberg.com/" data-testid="inline-card-resolved-view"&gt;Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking &amp;amp; World News&lt;/a&gt; subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots?in_source=oddlotspodcast" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1087"&gt;&lt;a href="http://bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;strong data-renderer-mark="true"&gt;Join the conversation:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://discord.gg/oddlots" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;discord.gg/oddlots&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;See &lt;a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener"&gt;omnystudio.com/listener&lt;/a&gt; for privacy information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Odd Lots

Bloomberg

Blackstone's Michael Zawadzki on How Private Credit Got so Big

JAN 23, 202651 MIN
Odd Lots

Blackstone's Michael Zawadzki on How Private Credit Got so Big

JAN 23, 202651 MIN

Description

We talk all the time about private credit. And we increasingly talk about it from the perspective of the AI buildout, and how all of these datacenters are being financed. But why did the space get so big in the first place, and what does its history indicate for the future of the asset class? On this episode, we speak with Michael Zawadzki, the Global CIO for Blackstone Credit and Insurance. Michael’s been with the firm since 2006, and built its private credit from the ground up. He talks about what it took to succeed in the space, the advantages that accrue to large players, and why private credit has played such an important role in financing AI infrastructure. Read more:Private Credit Firms Push New Funds in Bid to Tap Retiree MoneyBlackRock’s HPS Makes Its First Asia Investment After Merger Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at  bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots Subscribe to the Odd Lots NewsletterJoin the conversation: discord.gg/oddlotsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.