Co-founder, chairman and CEO, BlackRock
Larry Fink built BlackRock into the world's largest asset manager, with more than ten trillion dollars under management. That makes BlackRock a shareholder in virtually every listed company of any size. His annual letter is read in boardrooms as a signal of which themes will be on the agenda in the year ahead.
Fink moves markets not with a price forecast but with a theme. When he declared climate risk to be investment risk, it shifted capital flows across the industry. Whatever he puts at the centre this year is often what the entire asset management industry's product development is about next year.
MBA at UCLA; starts at First Boston, helping pioneer the mortgage-backed securities market.
Loses a hundred million dollars in a single quarter on a wrong rate bet, an experience that explains his emphasis on risk management.
Founds BlackRock with seven partners, initially under the wing of Blackstone.
BlackRock goes public.
Acquires Barclays Global Investors and with it the iShares ETFs, making BlackRock the largest at a stroke.
Puts climate at the centre of his annual letter, a theme that will occupy the industry for years.
Shifts emphasis towards infrastructure, private markets and retirement provision.
“Climate risk is investment risk.”
Updated: 2026-07-23
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