Larry Fink

Larry Fink

American businessman (born 1952)

Laurence Douglas Fink (born November 2, 1952) is an American billionaire businessman. He is a co-founder, chairman, and CEO of BlackRock, an American multinational investment management corporation.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Larry Fink (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Nov 2, 1952.1

About

BlackRock is the largest money-management firm in the world with more than US$10 trillion in assets under management. In April 2024, Fink's net worth was estimated at US$1.2 billion according to Forbes. He is a co-chairman of the World Economic Forum. In 2025, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

From Wikipedia’s article on Larry Fink, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedUniversity of California, Los Angeles3
  • Date not recordedUCLA Anderson School of Management3

Fink was born on November 2, 1952. He grew up as one of three children in a Jewish family in Van Nuys, California. His mother, Lila (1930–2012), was an English professor, and his father, Frederick (1925–2013), owned a shoe store. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in political science in 1974. He then received an M.B.A. in real estate at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1976.

From Wikipedia’s article on Larry Fink (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: economist, manager, politician, financier.9

  • Since 2025President, World Economic Forum8
  • Since 2014Board member, Council on Foreign Relations7
  • Since 1988Chief executive, BlackRock6
  • Date not recordedWorked at First Boston4
  • Date not recordedFounded BlackRock5

1970s to 2000

Fink started his career in 1976 at First Boston, a New York-based investment bank, where he was one of the first mortgage-backed security traders and eventually managed the firm's bond department. At First Boston, Fink was a member of the management committee, a managing director and co-head of the Taxable Fixed Income Division. He also started the Financial Futures and Options Department and headed the Mortgage and Real Estate Products Group.

Vanity Fair reported in 2010 that Fink had increased First Boston's assets by about $1 billion. He was successful at the bank until 1986, when his department lost $100 million due to his incorrect prediction about interest rates. The experience influenced his decision to start a company that would invest clients' money while also incorporating comprehensive risk management.

In 1988, under the corporate umbrella of The Blackstone Group, Fink co-founded BlackRock and became its director and CEO. When BlackRock split from Blackstone in 1994, Fink retained his positions, becoming chairman in 1998 after BlackRock became independent. His other positions at the company have included chairman of the board, chairman of the executive and leadership committees, chair of corporate council and co-chair of the global client committee. BlackRock went public in 1999.

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21st century

In 2003, Fink helped to negotiate the resignation of the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Grasso, who was widely criticized for his $190 million pay package. In 2006 Fink led the merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, which doubled BlackRock's asset management portfolio. That same year, BlackRock's $5.4 billion purchase of Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, a Manhattan housing complex, became the largest residential-real-estate deal in U.S. history. When the project ended in default, BlackRock clients lost their money, including the California Pension and Retirement System, which lost about $500 million.

The U.S. government contracted BlackRock to aid its recovery after the 2008 financial crisis. Fink's longstanding relationships with senior government officials have led to questions about potential conflicts of interest regarding government contracts awarded without competitive bidding. BlackRock's contract led to relationships with Obama's first Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and other members of the Obama economic recovery team. In 2016, Fink aspired to becoming Hillary Clinton's Treasury Secretary. Blackrock also hired many former executive branch appointees to its firm, strengthening its association with the federal government.

In December 2009, BlackRock purchased Barclays Global Investors, at which point the company became the largest money-management firm in the world. Despite his great influence, Fink is not widely known publicly, apart from his regular appearances on CNBC. BlackRock paid Fink $23.6 million in 2010, and $36 million in 2021. By 2016, BlackRock had $5 trillion under management, with 12,000 employees in 27 countries.

In 2016, Fink received the ABANA Achievement Award in New York City. It recognizes an individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership in banking and finance and has a commitment to positive professional cooperation between the US and the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2018, Fink was ranked No. 28 on the Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People.

During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, the Fed turned to BlackRock to help it purchase distressed securities in an echo of 2008.

In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, Fink said that it "really doesn’t matter" for financial markets whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the election.

In March 2025, following weeks of poor performance by US stocks amid actions by the Donald Trump administration, Fink said, "protectionism has returned with force."

From Wikipedia’s article on Larry Fink (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornNov 2, 1952, Van Nuys10
  • CitizenshipUnited States11
  • ResidenceNorth Salem, Manhattan, Vail12
  • Children313

Fink has been married to his wife Lori Weider, his high-school sweetheart since 1974. The couple have three children. Joshua, their eldest son, was CEO of Enso Capital, a now defunct hedge fund in which Fink had a stake.

In 2004, they bought Finch Farm in North Salem, New York from the actor Stanley Tucci for $3.7 million and have since bought seven more parcels of land there, including one from Maurice Sendak and 27 acres from the town's deputy supervisor Peter Kamenstein in 2019 for $5.4 million. They also have an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a house in Aspen, Colorado.

Fink is a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party.

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Views

In his 2018 annual letter to shareholders, Fink stated that other companies should be aware of their impact on society; however, antiwar organizations were discontented with Fink's statement because his company, BlackRock, is the largest investor in weapon manufacturers through its U.S. Aerospace and Defense ETF. In September 2018, an activist with the U.S. non-profit organization Code Pink confronted Fink onstage at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit.

From Wikipedia’s article on Larry Fink (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

In the news

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Sources

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