Imagine a man who, with the money he holds in his hand, directs the world's largest companies, governments and even economies, and he does it silently. His extraordinary nature is not limited to his financial success. He has an interesting life story that brought the FBI to his door when he was a child, collecting snakes on desert trips and trying to sell them. The company he founded, BlackRock, has a fortune of more than 12 trillion dollars. This is such a power that it is bigger than the economies of many countries on its own. Let me make it a little more concrete; it is richer than almost every country except America and China. Forget Goldman Sachs or other investment companies. BlackRock's profit margins are even higher than Apple and Google. With only small bond investments he established 30 years ago, he transformed his company into an unprecedented, gigantic financial empire.

He does not know what losing is. In fact, he was again the winner of the crypto rally after the last elections in America. If you still do not recognize this name, which is also at the center of the rescue operations of the American economy, it is very normal because even most of the American people do not know about him. The CEO of the world’s largest asset management firm is one of the powerful figures in the corridor stretching from Wall Street to Washington, but his name is almost never mentioned in Manhattan social circles or the rich club in Aspen. Some of you may think I’m exaggerating. Let me give you an example. When Fink, who has a 26-acre farm in North Salem, was angry because he blocked a horse track, his neighbor learned who he was and gave the following reaction: “Who is Larry Fink?”

Financial giants, families that rule the world, and even conspiracy theories… Some of you have pondered these. However, I will tell you about a company and its founder who actually owns and silently manages these systems behind all of this. I don’t know where to start the story because I also came across a complex web while researching. So let’s start with Larry Fink. Fink, who is seen as one of the top names on Wall Street, is actually a shadowy figure. He is a name that company bosses consult, governments ask for help, and who has a position between respect and fear in the financial world. His company, BlackRock, stands out from the rest not only for its size but also for its superior skills in risk management.

Fink lives with his wife, whom he met in high school and has been with for 50 years, on a farm called Finch Farm in the North Salem district of New York, and the couple has 3 children. They also have an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a house in Aspen, Colorado. However, very few people know him and his family. This is truly astonishing when you consider the immense power he wields. Just think, in 2008, when the world financial system was on the verge of collapse, the US Treasury Department, the New York Federal Reserve and the CEOs of Wall Street came knocking on his door to find a solution. Which one should I mention? BlackRock's name was mentioned in countless rescue operations from Bear Stearns to AIG, from Citigroup to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

So, how did his Wall Street journey begin? Born in 1952 in Van Nuys, California, to a Jewish shoemaker father and an English professor mother, Fink was an extraordinary child, unlike his family. This was evident from the fact that he collected snakes and tried to trade them during his family’s desert trips, and that the FBI was knocking on his door. His family supported the Democratic Party. Fink, who was educated in public schools, says that this experience shaped his personality. It is not known whether he dreamed of becoming a politician while studying political science at UCLA, but he completed a master’s degree in real estate finance and then entered investment banking.

Young Larry, who also experienced his first failure during this period, returned empty-handed from Goldman Sachs. The company did not accept him, but Fink says that this was the luckiest thing that could have happened to him. This is where the story suddenly turns around. The young man started working at an investment bank called First Boston in the 1970s. He specialized in mortgage bonds and rose quickly with his talent in this field. At only 31, he joined the company’s board of directors and became one of the youngest stars on Wall Street. He even became the youngest division manager in First Boston’s history. At the time, he says, “My team and I were like rock stars. The management loved us.” In fact, since most of the team was Jewish, some people at the firm even nicknamed Fink’s desk “Little Israel.” He was arrogant and ambitious. “I was a disgusting person,” he confessed in a newspaper interview. But he added that Wall Street loves success more than modesty. However, in 1986, he made a mistake in his investment strategy, causing his company to lose $100 million and parted ways with First Boston.

This event was a turning point in his career. Because during this period, he met Stephen Schwarzman, one of the rising stars of the investment and finance world. Fink presented him with the idea of ​​establishing an asset management company based on risk analysis to make investment decisions safer. Schwarzman believed in this vision and supported them to start a joint venture called Blackstone Financial Management with a $5 million investment through Blackstone. However, over time, strategic and leadership differences emerged between the two. With this separation, Fink continued on his path independently and transformed BlackRock into a giant asset management company in 1994. He also aimed to provide risk management services to his clients. This vision would transform BlackRock into a financial giant.

The company went public in the 1990s and grew rapidly. It gradually rose to the top by incorporating the giants of the investment world and incorporated major players. Today, BlackRock is one of the largest shareholders of almost every leading American company; it is also seen as a “superhero” in resolving financial crises. It is also one of the largest creditors to companies and governments worldwide. The company's Aladdin technology platform provides infrastructure for the global investment sector. Over time, BlackRock has also become influential in many areas of our daily lives. Today, BlackRock either has shares in or has an indirect impact on many industries and sectors. Travel platforms, major airlines and media giants... It also has major investments in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, energy and many other sectors.

This company is the size of a nation, but it does not have to answer to any authority. So how is this possible? How was Blackrock able to grow so much? First of all, I can say that the rise of financial giants like BlackRock was made possible by a transformation from physical production to capital management in the global economy. The key words are analysis and crisis management. While sectors focused on "physical production" such as energy, steel and automotive were at the forefront in the past, a powerhouse based on financial innovation and technology came to the fore in managing investment risks and solving complex financial problems during crisis periods such as the 2008 crisis. Companies like BlackRock also evaluated these opportunities correctly. Larry Fink and his team developed a groundbreaking technology platform called Aladdin, a type of risk management system. This software, which analyzes millions of transactions, transformed BlackRock from a mere investment company to a technology giant.

This system analyzes billions of dollars of investments by working 24 hours with 5,000 computers. Aladdin tests its clients' portfolios against even the smallest economic changes and simulates how they would perform in financial crisis scenarios. This transformed BlackRock from being just an asset manager to a consulting company for governments and large companies. The American government used BlackRock's system during the 2008 crisis to rescue giants such as Bear Stearns, AIG and Citigroup. This support naturally increased the company's influence in Washington. Let's remember, the main cause of the 2008 financial crisis was complex and risky financial products called mortgage-backed securities (MBS). These instruments were created by combining low-quality housing loans, but were overvalued by the market. When the crisis hit, these assets lost value rapidly and the financial system began to collapse. This is where BlackRock stepped in. It was one of the few companies that could perform risk analysis on these complex mortgage-based assets thanks to its Aladdin Platform.

Another development that grew the company was major acquisitions. In 2009, it acquired Barclays Global Investors and added iShares exchange-traded funds to its portfolio. BlackRock helped the Fed stabilize the bond market. However, details such as how much BlackRock received during this process were not disclosed. Strong ties with the government also brought criticism. Some argued that BlackRock was the “Blackwater of finance,” that is, it operated like a shadow government in the financial world. Meanwhile, there were speculations that Trump was considering Larry Fink for the Treasury Secretary. However, Trump denied these claims and stated that he had never considered Fink for the position. The relationship between Larry Fink and Donald Trump was shaped by professional economic consulting and policy discussions. In 2016, after Donald Trump was elected president, Fink joined Trump’s economic advisory board, which was created to provide Trump with strategic and policy advice on economic policy.

By the way, interestingly, the Trump assassin played in a commercial film shot by BlackRock in 2022. Fink's biggest difference from others is his obsessive meticulousness in managing risk. For him, this applies not only to the business world but also to his personal life. His oppressive style and occasional outbursts of anger towards his employees within the company have been voiced by some of his former employees. Today, his company is not only a financial giant; it is an economic strategy base. Thanks to his shares in companies such as Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft, he has a say in the boards of directors. The infrastructure projects he invests in even shape city planning. Some see him as a hero, such as environmentalists. Larry Fink is known as someone who encourages sustainable investments.

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria are at the center of his strategy. Elon Musk, on the other hand, describes ESG as "evil." The criticisms are not limited to environmental issues. For some, he may be the "good oligarch" of American capitalism. However, his power also raises questions in the financial world: How big can BlackRock’s influence be? And how big can a company get? These are some of the questions. John C. Coates from Harvard University also asks this question. “Should a company have so much power?” His “12 Problems” theory draws attention to the dominant role of Fink’s company in the capitalist system. It is clear that the excessive power of large investment companies indicates an imbalance in the capitalist system. So why? They can directly influence the boards of directors. How? Typically, each asset management company recommends and supports at least 2-3 people for board positions in a company in which it is a major shareholder. These representatives look out for not only the investors but also the interests of these giant companies.

For example, a representative on the Apple board of directors can oversee both Apple’s growth and a market balance that will not harm Apple’s competitors. At this point, the managers have the right to vote in key decisions affecting the companies’ long-term strategies. A dependent management structure. We can no longer talk about a democratic structure here. Because the management power is concentrated in a few large companies, and although these companies manage the money of anonymous investors, the decisions are made by a small number of senior managers. On the other hand, companies like BlackRock can be large shareholders of both a company and its competitor at the same time. This can disrupt market competition and lead to monopolization. If you ask why this is so important, BlackRock's portfolio today does not consist only of stocks. The company invests in a wide range of areas from the housing market to city infrastructures, from healthcare services to technology giants.

Its shares in companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft give BlackRock the right to vote on the boards of directors. This raises the question: "Does BlackRock rule the world?" In addition, the fact that the company manages the money of anonymous investors and its decisions are not democratic raises concerns that "control is concentrated in the hands of a few people" on a global scale. In order to change this bad image, the company owners are putting forward some ideas. The story of Larry Fink and BlackRock is a guide to understanding the point that modern capitalism has reached. While managing a huge fortune, its effects are not limited to the economy. It is felt in every field, from politics to the environment and social transformations. Therefore, the concentration of such great power in the hands of a handful of people leads me to the following question. Can a company that manages billions of dollars today also shape the future? Does this power carry an uncontrollable risk?