Influence and power Due to its power and the sheer size and scope of its financial assets and activities, BlackRock has been called the world's largest
shadow bank by
The Economist and
Basler Zeitung. BlackRock invests the funds of its clients (for example, the owners of
iShares exchange-traded fund units) in numerous publicly traded companies, some of which compete with each other. Because of the size of BlackRock's funds, the company is among the top shareholders of many companies. BlackRock states these shares are ultimately owned by the company's clients, not by BlackRock itself—a view shared by multiple independent academics—but acknowledges it can exercise shareholder votes on behalf of these clients, in many cases without client input. In the 2020s, the company took steps to allow institutional investors to participate in shareholder voting in nearly half of BlackRock's equity index assets.
Snopes described the whole claim as "false" and
PolitiFact described it as "mostly false" because of the absence of participation of BlackRock into Dominion Voting Systems. Some BlackRock conspiracy theories have incorporated
antisemitism, such as the conspiracy theory that Jewish people, including BlackRock founder Robert Kapito, are part of a
cabal responsible for
COVID-19 and a "
COVID agenda".
Common ownership "Common ownership" is when competitors within a market are commonly owned. In other words, these competitors can have the same powerful shareholders if their shares trade publicly. Common ownership has the potential to cause harm because it reduces market competition, which can be bad for consumers and the economy. Common ownership can also lead to higher pay for CEOs, even as competition between the firms is reduced. In response to a widely cited research paper that showed that common ownership raises prices, BlackRock issued a
white paper calling the mechanism "vague and implausible". At the same time, BlackRock's 2023
SEC annual report identified common ownership as a potential business risk, noting that "in 2023, the
FTC and
DOJ released new merger guidelines recognizing that common ownership may reduce competitive incentives" and that "policy solutions could, in turn, adversely affect BlackRock." The company disclosed that common ownership "may be given greater consideration in regulatory investigations, studies, rule proposals, policy decisions and/or the scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions."
Environmental, social and corporate governance investing In 2017, BlackRock expanded its
environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) projects with new staff and products. BlackRock started drawing attention to environmental and diversity issues by means of official letters to CEOs and shareholder votes together with
activist investors or investor networks such as the
Carbon Disclosure Project, which in 2017 backed a shareholder resolution for
ExxonMobil to act on
climate change. In 2018, it asked
Russell 1000 companies to improve
gender diversity on their board of directors if they had fewer than two women on them. In August 2021, a former BlackRock executive who had served as the company's first global chief investment officer for sustainable investing, said he thought the firm's ESG investing was a "dangerous placebo that harms the public interest." The former executive said that financial institutions are motivated to engage in ESG investing because ESG products have higher fees, which in turn increase company profits. In October 2021,
The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that BlackRock was pushing the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt rules requiring private companies to publicly disclose their climate impact, the diversity of their boards of directors, and other metrics. The editorial board opined that "ESG mandates, which also carry substantial litigation and reputation risks, will cause many companies to shun public markets. This would hurt stock exchanges and asset managers, but most of all retail investors." In January 2022, BlackRock founder and CEO Larry Fink defended the company's focus on ESG investing, pushing back "against accusations the asset manager was using its heft and influence to support a
politically correct or
progressive agenda." Fink said the practice of ESG "is not
woke". BlackRock's emphasis on ESG has drawn criticism as "either bowing to anti-business interests" or being "merely marketing". In a talk at the
Aspen Ideas Festival in June 2023, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he has stopped using the term "ESG" because the term has been "weaponized". According to an
Axios reporter, Fink said, "I'm ashamed of being part of this conversation." Later, according to
Axios, Fink said, "I never said I was ashamed. I'm not ashamed. I do believe in conscientious capitalism." In July 2023, BlackRock announced that it would allow retail investors a
proxy vote in its biggest ETF from 2024. The move was initiated in the context of claims from US Republicans that BlackRock is systematically trying to push a 'woke agenda' through its pro-ESG activities. Under the plan, investors in BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF will be asked to make choices from seven different general policies ranging from voting generally with BlackRock's management, to environmental, social and governance factors or prioritizing Catholic values. Investors will not be able to vote on specific companies. The
Editorial Board at The Wall Street Journal argued that it amounted to a "false voting choice" since almost all of the pre-selected voting policies are devised by the ESG-aligned proxy advisories
Glass Lewis and
Institutional Shareholder Services.
Investments in contributors to climate change and
Extinction Rebellion, protest BlackRock's shareholder meeting on May 31, 2022. As of December 2018, BlackRock was the world's largest investor in
coal-fired power stations, holding shares worth $11 billion in 56 companies in the industry. BlackRock owned more oil, gas, and thermal coal reserves than any other investment management company with total reserves amounting to 9.5 gigatonnes of emissions or 30% of total energy-related emissions from 2017. Environmental groups including the
Sierra Club, as well as
Amazon Watch, launched a campaign in September 2018 called "BlackRock's Big Problem", claiming that BlackRock is the "biggest driver of climate destruction on the planet", in part due to its opposition to
fossil fuel divestment. On January 10, 2020, a group of climate activists rushed inside the Paris offices of BlackRock France, painting walls and floors with warnings and accusations on the responsibility of the company in the
effects of global warming. In May 2019, BlackRock was criticized for the environmental impact of its holdings as it was a major shareholder in every oil
supermajor except
Total S.A. and in 7 of the 10 biggest coal producers. On January 14, 2020, the company shifted its investment policy; BlackRock CEO
Larry Fink said that environmental
sustainability would be a key goal for investment decisions. BlackRock announced that it would sell $500 million worth of coal-related assets, and created funds that would not invest in companies profiting from
fossil fuels. BlackRock has also been criticized regarding
climate change inaction and
deforestation in the
Amazon rainforest. According to
The New Republic, BlackRock "has positioned itself as the good guy on
Wall Street, and its executives as a crew of mild-mannered money managers who understand the risks of the climate crisis and the importance of diversity. But those commitments, critics say, only extend so far into the firm's day-to-day operations." According to
IESE, BlackRock has indeed influenced polluting companies to lower their carbon emissions. The study showed that companies who met with BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink had lower CO2 emissions the following year. Another study showed that Blackrock has mislabelled some investment funds, having only 9% out of 82 funds labelled as sustainable which did not invest in fossil fuel companies.
Investments in gun manufacturers In May 2018, anti-gun protesters held a demonstration outside the company's
annual general meeting in Manhattan. After discussions with firearms manufacturers and distributors, on April 5, 2018, BlackRock introduced two new
exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that exclude stocks of gun makers and large gun retailers such as
Walmart,
Dick's Sporting Goods,
Kroger,
Sturm Ruger,
American Outdoor Brands, and
Vista Outdoor, and removed the stocks from seven existing ESG funds.
BlackRock study on integrating ESG into banking rules The
European Ombudsman opened an inquiry in May 2020 to inspect the commission's file on the
European Commission's decision to award a contract to BlackRock to carry out a study on integrating environmental, social and governance risks and objectives into EU banking rules ('the prudential framework').
European Parliament members questioned the impartiality of BlackRock given its investments in the sector.
U.S. states refusing to do business with BlackRock due to ESG policies Riley Moore, the
state treasurer of West Virginia, said in June 2022 that BlackRock and five other financial institutions would no longer be allowed to do business with the state of West Virginia because of the company's advocacy against the fossil fuel industry. In October 2022, Louisiana removed $794 million from BlackRock due to the company's support of ESG and green energy. In December 2022,
Jimmy Patronis, the chief financial officer of Florida, announced that the
government of Florida would be divesting $2 billion worth of investments under management by BlackRock due to the firm's move to strengthen ESG standards and ESG policies. BlackRock later responded to the announcement with a statement stating that the divestment would place politics over investor interest.
Criticism of investments in China In August 2021, BlackRock set up its first mutual fund in China after raising over one billion dollars from 111,000 Chinese investors. BlackRock became the first foreign-owned company allowed by the Chinese government to operate a wholly owned business in China's mutual fund industry. Writing in
The Wall Street Journal,
George Soros described BlackRock's initiative in China as a "tragic mistake" that would "damage the national security interests of the U.S. and other democracies." In October 2021,
conservative non-profit group
Consumers' Research launched an ad campaign criticizing BlackRock's relationship with the Chinese government in response to BlackRock's climate change activism, as part of Consumers' Research's campaign against perceived "
wokeness" in American corporations. In December 2021, it was reported that BlackRock was an investor in two companies that had been blacklisted by the US government accusing China of
human rights abuses against the
Uyghurs in Xinjiang. In one case (
Hikvision) BlackRock increased its level of investment after the company's blacklisting. In August 2023, the
US House of Representatives' Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party initiated an investigation into the firm's investments in Chinese companies accused of violating human rights and aiding the
People's Liberation Army. In April 2024, a committee report said index inclusion and fund investments had directed at least $1.9 billion into entities "blacklisted" by U.S. authorities. The committee noted the activity was legal under then‑current rules and urged policy changes. BlackRock said its products comply with U.S. law and client mandates. In February 2025, a group of 17 U.S. state attorneys general criticized BlackRock for making improper or inadequate disclosures about investments in China.
Ties with Federal Reserve BlackRock was scrutinized for allegedly taking advantage of its close ties with the
Federal Reserve during the COVID-19 pandemic response efforts. In June 2020,
The New Republic wrote that BlackRock "was having a very good pandemic" and was casting "itself as socially responsible while contributing to the climate catastrophe, evading regulatory scrutiny, and angling to influence [a potential]
Biden administration." BlackRock pledged to forgo profits from the Fed's program other than its financial markets advisory fees. It pledged additional income earned on its bond ETFs as a result of the buying program be returned to the Federal Reserve. In January 2026,
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that BlackRock's
CIO of Global Fixed Income, Rick Rieder, is one of four short-listed candidates under consideration by
President Trump to succeed
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends in May 2026.
Ties with Israel During 2025, a UN report on
corporations complicit in the
Gaza genocide showed that Blackrock was one of the main investors in tech and military companies, such as
Palantir,
Microsoft,
Amazon,
Alphabet Inc.,
IBM,
Lockheed Martin and
Caterpillar Inc. == Key people ==