Blackstone accepted fewer than 1% of intern applicants. Here's the advice Jon Gray gave those who made it.

Jon Gray talked to interns on July 8. Blackstone Business Insider sat in exclusively on Blackstone President Jon Gray's advice to summer interns. Gray told them that a trifecta of traits will help them get ahead at the firm. He also said an "eye of the tiger, will to win" has distinguished those who become leaders. Despite his constant travel and packed schedule, Blackstone's Jon Gray tries to respond to every email before he goes to bed, even if it's just to say he'll look at it more carefully later. He advised summer interns that adopting a similar habit will probably serve them well. "Responsiveness is a habit that you can learn that wins you a lot of positive affirmation," Gray, the firm's president and chief operating officer, said Wednesday. "If you respond to people in a timely way, it shows you value them," he said.