FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN 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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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * JAMES HAMILTON E   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Blackstone Group L.P. [BX] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) __X__ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) President and COO (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P., 345 PARK AVENUE 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 04/25/2012 (Street) NEW YORK, NY 10154 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) 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 Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Common units representing limited partner interests 04/25/2012   C(1)   1,933,412 A $ 0 1,933,412 D   Common units representing limited partner interests 04/25/2012   G(6) V 1,933,412 D $ 0 0 D   Common units representing limited partner interests 04/25/2012   C(3)   566,588 A $ 0 566,588 I See footnote (4) Common units representing limited partner interests 04/25/2012   G(7) V 566,588 D $ 0 0 I See footnote (4) Common units representing limited partner interests 04/25/2012   G(6) V 1,933,412 A $ 0 10,683,412 I See footnote (5) Common units representing limited partner interests 04/25/2012   G(7) V 566,588 A $ 0 11,250,000 I See footnote (5)

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

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Blackstone Holdings partnership units (1)

(1)

04/25/2012

C(2)

1,933,412

(1)

(1)

Common units representing limited partner interests

1,933,412

$ 0

24,423,093

D

Blackstone Holdings partnership units (1)

(1)

04/25/2012

C(3)

566,588

(1)

(1)

Common units representing limited partner interests

566,588

$ 0

7,157,207

I

See footnote (4)

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
JAMES HAMILTON E C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P. 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154	X		President and COO

Signatures

/s/ Robert L. Friedman, Attorney-in-Fact		04/27/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(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. Subject to the minimum retained ownership requirements and transfer restrictions set forth in the partnership agreements of the Blackstone partnerships, the Reporting Person has the rights, 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)	Pursuant to an exchange agreement, the Reporting Person exchanged 1,933,412 Blackstone Holdings partnership units for an equal number of common units of The Blackstone Group L.P.
(3)	Pursuant to an exchange agreement, a trust for the benefit of the Reporting Person's children (the "Trust"), of which the Reporting Person is a trustee with investment power, exchanged 566,588 Blackstone Holdings partnership units for an equal number of common units of The Blackstone Group L.P.
(4)	These units are held by the Trust.
(5)	These units are held in a limited liability company beneficially owned by the Reporting Person and his spouse (the "LLC").
(6)	These units were transferred by the Reporting Person to the LLC.
(7)	These units were transferred by the Trust to the LLC.
Remarks: The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities reported on this form except to the extent of his pecuniary interest.

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