Laurence D. Fink
| Laurence D. Fink | |
| |
| Occupation | CEO |
|---|---|
| Employer | BlackRock |
Laurence D. Fink (known as Larry Fink) is the CEO and chairman of BlackRock, which he founded along with seven partners in 1988.[1] As the CEO of BlackRock, he oversees $10 trillion in managed assets.[2] Forbes estimated his net worth to be about $1.2 billion in 2024.[3]
Fink serves as co-chair of the board of trustees of the World Economic Forum and is a member of the board of trustees of New York University. He is also co-chairman of the NYU Langone Medical Center board of trustees. He also serves on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the International Rescue Committee. He sits on the advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing and on the executive committee of the Partnership for New York City.[4]
He is revered by many in the industry for managing to come through the 2007-2008 financial crisis unscathed partly by rebuffing offers to turn around Citigroup and Merrill Lynch.[5]
His annual open letters to chief executives and investors have often made BlackRock a target in debates over companies' responsibilities to respond to climate change. BlackRock has lost investment mandates from some Republican-led US states for allegedly being “hostile” to fossil fuel. He has also been chastised by some Democratic activists for not doing more to divest from it. His letters have also helped boost interest in stakeholder capitalism.[6] His 2019 letter urged CEOs to focus on sustainability, emphasizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals rather than solely on the bottom line.[7]
Background[edit]
Before starting BlackRock, Fink was a managing director at The First Boston Corporation - the youngest managing director in the firm's history. He started working there in 1976 after getting his MBA, joining as one of the bank’s first mortgage-backed security traders. He was instrumental in creating and developing the mortgage-backed security market in the United States.
Fink grew up in Van Nuys, California, where his mother was an English professor and his father owned a shoe store. He married his high-school sweetheart, Lori, in 1974, and the couple has three children.
Education[edit]
Fink earned an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1976 and a BA from UCLA in 1974.
References[edit]
- ↑ Larry Fink Profile. Forbes.
- ↑ BlackRock's Larry Fink, who oversees $10 trillion, says Russia-Ukraine war is ending globalization. CNBC.
- ↑ Larry Fink. Forbes.
- ↑ Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. BlackRock.
- ↑ BLACKROCK BEHEMOTH BAGS BARCLAYS GLOBAL FOR $13B. The New York Post.
- ↑ Larry Fink warns retirement crisis looms for ageing world population. The Financial Times.
- ↑ Who is Larry Fink?. Cointelegraph.