Sure, the one-upmanship can be silly, but it still feels good to be a record setter.  The Blackstone Group has just set the record for the largest private equity deal in history by agreeing to buy Equity Office Properties Trust, the country's largest office building owner, for $36 billion, which breaks the $33 billion record set in July by the Kohlberg Kravis Roberts-led acquisition of H.C.A., the hospital chain (which itself broke the KKR-held $31.3 billion record for acquisition of RJR Nabisco).  Congrats Blackstone!

Congrats also to my old friend Sam Zell, founder of Equity Office, whose Forbes ranking is bound to rise.