Larry Fink: The Monopoly Man

Larry Fink, a man who, to the average person, is a nobody. Nobody of value, of fame, or anything an average person is concerned about. However he has more influence over our lives than one could imagine. Those who are engaged within the financial world turn their heads with the slightest mention of his name, and for good reason. He wields immense power and wealth - being CEO of the largest asset management firm across the globe, managing over $10 trillion worth of assets. He has a net worth estimated at a staggering $1 billion and is ranked 28th on Forbes’ list of ‘most powerful people in the world. Quite a profile for someone who most people didn’t know existed.

Who is Larry Fink and how did he achieve such a feat?

Fink commenced his embarkment on his financial journey in 1976 at a New York based investment bank, First Boston. Here he was a mortgage backed security trader and here he shined. In 2010 it was reported that he had managed to immensely increase the value of the assets of the firm by a grand $1 billion. All seemed to be going seamlessly for Fink until one day, a lamentable calamity struck Fink right where it hurt - the money. Due to an incorrect prediction of interest rates, Fink ended up watching $100 million vanish. This unfortunate mishap led to him starting a company in which investments also took into careful consideration the idea of risk management .

Fink co-founded Blackrock in 1988 and with his prior experience in First Boston and his natural talent for investing, Fink managed to grow the company from nothing to over $5 trillion in assets in 2016, and has now doubled that to over ten trillion which is a formidable achievement . He did this via a multitude of projects such as the merger Merrill Lynch or the purchase of a housing complex in Manhattan worth over $5.4 billion which doubled their value, however, when the real estate project defaulted they lost over 500 million dollars. However, with the purchase of Barclays Global Investors in 2009, Fink had finally become the CEO of the number one asset management firm company in the world. While Larry Fink is CEO of Blackrock, his influence spreads across the world with global markets and politics. This is where his true power is derived from. Blackrock was a tool in which he managed to take control of global systems - he is valued by policymakers for his insight into economic and financial matters and hence has control over some of the decisions they make. Some major global contributions include Blackrock’s support during the 2008 financial crisis where they helped provide liquidity as well as advisory services to both the government and other financial institutions. Larry Fink also endorses the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) metric in which modern businesses now need to consider their environmental and social impacts they have on society. This system has led to businesses conducting their actions with ethical regards and has led to a more sustainable, inclusive, and less discriminatory business environment and Larry Fink was an important component in integrating this system within today's society. Finally, simply due to his sheer size in finance and the business world, people will often listen to anything he says as if it were gospel. He is a trendsetter for corporations while also having control over their own governance, bending these organisations to his own desire - which is his eyes, a desire to make the world a better, more sustainable place to live in. His positions on subjects such as climate change and diversity have led to the changes we now see today; companies now strive to use more sustainable practices. These views and actions can therefore affect the views of investors, stakeholders and other asset managers, where Larry sees promise, these financial institutions follow. This level of influence occurs at a global scale - showing us that the world we live in today is based on the opinions and decisions of one man, Larry Fink. The monopoly man.