2016 kicked off with a bout of economic turmoil following a disastrous Q4 for private equity giant Blackstone, which saw profits drop by 70% in Q4 '15.

(Not that it stopped Blackstone from making deals; it closed the year strong with nearly $20B in transactions.)

Still, the recovery hasn't been rosy for the world's largest landlord. Since the drop, its stock has dropped even further, chopping $3B off the company's market cap.

"Blackstone stock, as I have referenced, has been under severe pressure and the alternative asset management group has been one of the hardest hit in terms of stock price declines," CEO Steve Schwarzman said on an earnings call. "Despite this I have every confidence in our firm and our current position."

And the company could be preparing for a recession, something experts have been predicting.

Over the past two years, the company's head of real estate, Jon Gray (pictured), has engineered a series of deals, selling off tens of billions in real estate—including the latest $6.5B deal for Strategic Hotels and Resorts, which bolstered China's Anbang Insurance's growing portfolio of US trophy assets.