The British government announced this month that billionaire Stephen Schwarzman and the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, will receive knighthoods.

The honor will be conferred by King Charles with an investiture ceremony later this year making Schwarzman and Milley honorary "knight commanders of the most excellent order of the British Empire."

Dame Karen Pierce, British ambassador to the United States, said, "The King has conferred an honorary knighthood on Stephen Schwarzman in recognition of his services to philanthropic causes in the U.K."

The ambassador noted that Schwarzman "has been particularly supportive of Oxford University where he has given the largest ever single donation."

Schwarzman has donated nearly $237 million to Oxford University to build a new humanities center that will bear his name.

Milley, who served under Presidents Trump and Biden, also received high praise.

Britain's defense attache to the U.S., Rear Adm. Tim Woods, released a statement on X: "From leadership over Afghanistan, expansion of @NATO, to the creation of AUKUS, our nation has been truly fortunate in these turbulent & uncertain times to have the confidence of America's leading military figure."

Schwarzman said he is "deeply humbled to receive this honor," and would "cherish" his "longstanding ties with the U.K."

Schwarzman joins top American businessmen to receive the honor, including Disney chief Bob Iger and Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg.

Blackstone, the world's largest asset manager, is also one of the largest investors in the U.K., according to the Financial Times. Blackstone bought the Savoy Group hotel business in 1998.

On a related matter, prolific TV producer Shonda Rhimes was also made honorary commander of the British Empire. Rhimes has produced TV hits "Bridgerton," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Scandal."

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