Larry Fink

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Larry Fink is cofounder and CEO of BlackRock.

© Fabrice Coffrini—AFP/Getty Images

Few people in the financial industry are as well-known as Larry Fink, the cofounder, chair, and chief executive officer of BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest money manager. With more than $14 trillion in assets under management as of 2025, BlackRock holds stakes in thousands of companies through its mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and portfolios managed for institutional investors.

Fink has emerged as one of the most influential figures in global finance, and his annual letters to CEOs outline what he sees as important business trends. His outspokenness has also made him a target of political and public backlash.

Laurence D. “Larry” Fink was born November 2, 1952, and raised in Van Nuys, California, one of three children. His mother, Lila, was an English professor at California State University, Northridge, while his father, Frederick, owned a shoe store. Growing up, Fink had to help out in the family store because his grades weren’t as strong as those of his older brother, who was excused from retail duties.

Fink graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1974 with a political science degree, but his interest in business started his senior year after taking a few real estate classes. Intrigued, he went on to receive an M.B.A. in real estate from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1976.

Rather than work in property development, Fink headed to Wall Street. He landed a job in 1976 at First Boston, a prominent New York investment bank, where he traded mortgage-backed securities, drawing on his real estate training. By 1978, Fink was one of the youngest managing directors in First Boston’s history.

His career path took a sudden turn in 1986, when his department lost $100 million after interest rates unexpectedly dropped and the positions his team placed to hedge those risks failed. The loss, which Fink later described as a moment when “I screwed up. And it was bad,” proved a defining experience. The failure convinced him that comprehensive risk management must form the foundation of any sound investment strategy.

In 1988, Fink left First Boston and cofounded what became BlackRock with seven partners under the umbrella of the Blackstone Group, which provided a $5 million loan and took a 50% equity stake. The new firm, Blackstone Financial Management, specialized in bond investing and used sophisticated technology to manage risk. Within six years it was managing $23 billion and had about 150 employees.

After splitting from Blackstone in 1994, the firm adopted the name BlackRock, with Fink remaining as CEO. He became chair in 1998, and the company went public in 1999.

Two pivotal moves transformed BlackRock from a bond manager into what is now the world’s largest asset manager. In 2006, Fink led a merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers that brought BlackRock’s assets close to $1 trillion. Even bigger was his decision to buy Barclays Global Investors in 2009, after the 2007–08 financial crisis, for $13.5 billion. The purchase included the iShares family of exchange-traded funds, which were a relatively new investment product at the time.

Over time, BlackRock expanded the iShares lineup and became the world’s largest provider of ETFs, cementing its status as a dominant global money manager.

As BlackRock grew, Fink cultivated relationships with government officials. During both the 2007–08 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury contracted with BlackRock to help manage distressed securities and stabilize financial markets. The arrangements also drew scrutiny over potential conflicts between BlackRock’s advisory role and its investment business.

Fink is also known for his annual letters to CEOs of companies BlackRock invests in, a tradition since 2012. Because of his prominence, the letters are widely read and influential, often highlighting emerging business trends.

The main theme of the letters over time emphasizes long-term value creation, but the epistles have drawn criticism from the political left and right. The strongest criticism came from conservatives, as for several years Fink used his letters to influence corporate behavior on environmental, social, and governance issues.

Starting in 2018, Fink called on corporations to articulate their purpose beyond profit maximization and to serve all stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, and communities. He wrote that “without a sense of purpose, no company can achieve its full potential.”

Fink’s 2020 letter represented his strongest statement on climate change, declaring that environmental sustainability would become central to BlackRock’s investment decisions.

Backlash to his ESG push came from both sides. Conservatives accused Fink of pushing social issues over profits and called the ESG and climate focus political overreach. Climate activists chided Fink for being hypocritical on BlackRock’s ESG stance, saying the rhetoric was inconsistent with its fossil-fuel holdings. Fink also was criticized by his former sustainability chief, Tariq Fancy, who called the ESG trend “marketing gobbledygook.”

By 2024, political backlash to ESG investing was building momentum among lawmakers in Republican-led states, some of which pulled billions of dollars from BlackRock. Fink’s tone shifted; his letter that year avoided the term and instead focused on retirement security and “energy pragmatism,” acknowledging that nations would still need fossil fuels during the transition to renewable energy.

Besides conservative politicians’ complaints about Fink’s ESG push, BlackRock has had other critics. Some have argued that the company’s enormous size creates a systemic risk and has given it excessive influence over corporate governance through proxy votes. Fink’s close ties with government officials have also raised concerns about conflicts of interest.

In August 2025, Fink became interim co-chair of the World Economic Forum alongside André Hoffmann, replacing founder Klaus Schwab, who had resigned amid controversy. The leadership change came as the forum faced questions about its relevance.

Fink reshaped the conference, urging corporate leaders to attend opening panels and inviting President Donald Trump to address the 2026 gathering. Fink reiterated the importance of the annual meeting, saying the forum is unique in bringing together business leaders, political officials, and civil society at such scale.

In his opening remarks at Davos 2026, Fink warned about artificial intelligence and the future of capitalism. He cautioned that AI could devastate the working and professional classes and widen already growing wealth disparities.

Fink’s influence extends far beyond BlackRock’s dominance. His CEO letters have been closely followed, and he has argued that corporations need to think about their responsibilities to society, albeit in less direct terms more recently.

In 2025, Time named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people, reflecting his status as a figure who has shaped not only finance, but also broader conversations about capitalism’s role in society.