The year in private equity

The Blackstone Group goes public on the New York Stock Exchange. The $4 billion IPO gives retail investors the chance to buy into one of the titans of private equity.

Investors - including the Chinese government, which buys a $3 billion stake in the firm ahead of the offering - flock to the deal.

Shares surge 13 percent on their first day of trading. But some observers wonder whether savvy players like Blackstone chief Steve Schwarzman are cashing in before the market turns.