Blackstone Private Equity Fund for Individuals Gets $1.3 Billion

Blackstone Inc. raised $1.3 billion for its first private equity fund for rich individuals, achieving one of the biggest initial hauls for a fund of its kind despite a delayed launch.

The cash pile, disclosed in a filing Monday, underscores the intensifying race among alternative investment firms to court private wealth as key sources of institutional money dry up.

Dubbed BXPE, the fund will invest in private strategies including startups, fund stakes and the buyouts that Blackstone Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman is known for.

BXPE’s structure has a different reach from some of the other firm’s products for individuals, ...