Blackstone’s Gray Is Best on the Street in NCAA Bracket Contest

(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Inc. President Jonathan Gray cruised to a win in this year's Bloomberg Brackets for a Cause competition after correctly calling the Kansas Jayhawks to take down Villanova in the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament before cutting down the nets for the program's fourth national title.

Gray was one of six contestants in the charity contest to correctly pick the Jayhawks to win it all, as were Bumble Inc. founder and Chief Executive Officer Whitney Wolfe Herd and Z Capital Group founder James Zenni who finished in second and third, respectively.

Kansas, a one seed in the tournament, capped off their title run by making the largest comeback in national championship history Monday night, overcoming a 16-point deficit to take down No. 8 North Carolina 72-69 in New Orleans.

Each of the 53 participants in this year's contest made a $10,000 pledge -- along with selecting a nonprofit to benefit if they are a top finisher, plus an additional $2,022 -- in honor of the current year -- to raise money for the World Central Kitchen.

Gray was playing for the the Basser Center, which seeks to advance genetics research, and will see $265,000 donated to the cause. With no one in the field selecting North Carolina to cut down the nets, Gray had the victory wrapped up before Monday's finale.

“As a long time college basketball fan, I'm thrilled to win Bloomberg's Bracket challenge on behalf of the Basser Center at Penn Medicine. This victory brings valuable funds to Basser - the global leader in research, treatment and prevention of BRCA related cancers,” Gray said in a statement.

Wolfe Herd played for Every Mother Counts, which will get $185,500 for her runner-up finish.

“What an honor to be in the company of so many business and community leaders that I admire. This is such a fun competition every year, providing an arena to shine a spotlight on so many vital nonprofit organizations. Every Mother Counts is near and dear to my heart, working to combat the ongoing maternal health crisis. As a recent mother of two, I am thankful for the opportunity to support this wonderful organization,” Wolfe Herd said in a statement.

Zenni's third place finish will send $79,500 toward Ukraine relief efforts. Since its start in 2015, the brackets contest has raised more than $3 million for charity.