Blackrock CEO Larry Fink is a prominent figure in the global financial services industry. He has been leading Blackrock, one of the world’s largest asset management firms, since its founding in 1988. In 2020 he made headlines as his company announced it was entering into the cryptocurrency market and exploring ways to invest in digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Larry Fink studied economics at New York University before joining First Boston Corporation where he worked under Felix Rohatyn – an influential public official during New York City’s 1970-80s fiscal crisis. After working at Goldman Sachs for 10 years, he joined BlackRock which then had only six employees; today they manage over $7 trillion worth of assets worldwide with more than 17,000 people employed across 30 countries.
Fink believes that cryptocurrencies have come to stay and will remain part of our lives going forward: “It’s here to stay…there will be other currencies like this whether it’s corporates or sovereign nations.” He also supports regulatory oversight for cryptos so that consumers can feel safe about investing them: “We need proper regulation around money laundering standards … We should not allow non-regulated companies to provide all these services”.
In addition to managing BlackRock investments, Larry Fink actively engages himself with philanthropic activities – notably through The Giving Pledge movement launched by Bill Gates & Warren Buffett – donating millions of dollars towards education programs throughout US cities including Los Angeles & Chicago among others.
