FORTUNE — Investors are confident that whoever will be running Blackstone in 2044 will be doing so capably. If that person takes the helm at the giant alternative asset manager at the same age founder Steve Schwarzman started the firm in 1985, he or she is currently rounding out second grade. Indeed, public investors in the 30-year bond market must have strong confidence in the firm's succession plans. They lapped up a $500 million offering from Blackstone earlier this week at a 5% yield. It is a deal that speaks volumes about the private equity business — and the bond market as well. Private equity deals had once been the bread and butter of firms like Blackstone (BX). After Schwarzman took the firm public in 2007 (in a noisy public offering that made him and some colleagues instant billionaires), Blackstone used its public currency to grow quickly.