Friday Letter With friends like these…

On April 9, 2003, Steve Schwarzman and Barry Sternlicht joined together, presumably for the first time, in a friendly game of hoops. At the Chelsea Piers sports complex on the West Side of Manhattan, the two private equity bigwigs competed in a charity basketball event that pitted them against a team of female collegians. And despite the handicaps of age and athleticism—Schwarzman had missed the event the previous year due to a skiing injury—Schwarzman and Sternlicht were able to eke out a 40-38 victory.