FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   GRAY JONATHAN 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 02/24/2012 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Blackstone Group L.P. [BX] (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP, 345 PARK AVENUE 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __X__ Director _____ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) NEW YORK, NY 10154 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Blackstone Holdings partnership units (1)	  (1)	  (1)	Common units representing limited partner interests	29,915,242	$ (1)	D	Â
Blackstone Holdings partnership units (1)	  (1)	  (1)	Common units representing limited partner interests	8,066,571	$ (1)	I	See footnote (2)
Blackstone Holdings partnership units (1)	  (1)	  (1)	Common units representing limited partner interests	2,603,487	$ (1)	I	See footnote (3)

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
GRAY JONATHAN C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154	  X	Â	Â	Â

Signatures

/s/ Tabea Y. Hsi as Attorney-in-Fact		03/07/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	A "Blackstone Holdings partnership unit" collectively refers to one limited partner interest in each of Blackstone Holdings I L.P., Blackstone Holdings II L.P., Blackstone Holdings III L.P., and Blackstone Holdings IV L.P. (the "Blackstone Holdings partnerships"). Subject to the minimum retained ownership requirements and transfer restrictions set forth in the partnership agreements of the Blackstone Holdings partnerships, the Reporting Person has the right, exercisable from time to time, to exchange each Blackstone Holdings partnership unit for one common unit of The Blackstone Group L.P. The Blackstone Holdings partnership units have no expiration date and may not be exchanged at any time prior to December 31, 2012 other than pursuant to transactions or programs approved by Blackstone.
(2)	These Blackstone Holdings partnership units are held in a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust for which the Reporting Person is the investment trustee.
(3)	These Blackstone Holdings partnership units are held in a trust, for the benefit of the Reporting Person's children, of which the Reporting Person is the investment trustee. The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of the Blackstone Holdings partnership units held in this trust.

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