From giant mergers to record-breaking sales, it's clear Blackstone likes to go big or go home. The firm just raised $15.8B for its new fund, the largest private real estate fund ever.

Although the news broke in March, the deal finally went through this week, with 20% of the capital already committed to projects, Blackstone said Thursday.

As of this June, Blackstone has $92B of assets under management, making head Jonathan Gray the world's top real estate fund manager, as well as the largest private landlord in the US.

Its latest global fund Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII succeeded the last fund of $13.3B. It also has two multibillion funds in Europe and Asia. 90% of the funds reportedly come from institutions, like insurance companies.

All of this allows Blackstone to beat out competition by buying properties in bulk and sell as it pleases. "How many other players could have done [the GE deal]?" head of RXR Realty Scott Rechler says. "Over time, they have gotten to a size and scale where they can do deals few others can." [TRD]