====== BlackRock ====== {{ ::blackrock-logo.wine.png?200|}} **BlackRock Inc.** is an American global investment management corporation based in New York City.((Feuer, W. (2021, November 5). //Striking Alabama mine workers arrested in NYC outside BlackRock HQ.// New York Post. https://archive.ph/2Lpdx)) It is the world's largest asset manager, with US$10 trillion in assets under management as of January 2022.((Barrabi, T. (2022, January 18). //BlackRock CEO says stakeholder capitalism isn’t “woke,” just good business.// New York Post. https://archive.ph/eYChv/)) BlackRock operates globally with 70 offices in 30 countries and clients in 100 countries. Because of its vast economic and political influence, BlackRock is considered a "secret world power" on its own.((//BlackRock.// WikiSpooks. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/m2WLN)) ((Mariotti, G. (2020, July 1). //BlackRock - Die unheimliche Macht eines Finanzkonzerns. Doku von ARTE - Deutsch.// YouTube. https://archive.ph/b7AQG)) ((Cristián, R. (2020, June 18). //The COVID Coup: The BlackRock Takeover Of American Interests.// The Last American Vagabond. https://archive.ph/hWl2R)) ===== Affiliations ===== ==== Supra-National Organizations ==== === Atlantic Council === BlackRock is associated with the [[Atlantic Council]], having been included on the Chairman’s Circle of their Corporate Members Program as of August 2020.((//Convene, connect, collaborate.// (2020, August 7). Atlantic Council. https://web.archive.org/web/20200807211042/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/support-the-council/corporate-members-program/)) The company had donated at least $50,000.00 – $99,000.00 to the Atlantic Council as of 2019.((//Honor roll of contributors.// Atlantic Council. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://archive.ph/0socH)) === World Economic Forum === BlackRock is a member organization of the [[World Economic Forum]].((//BlackRock.// (2021, June 10). World Economic Forum. https://archive.ph/pcpjt)) The company's founder, [[Larry Fink]], sits on the WEF Board of Trustees.((//Leadership and Governance.// (2021, November 25). World Economic Forum. https://archive.ph/SWPYW)) ((//World Economic Forum/Board of Trustees.// (2021, November 30). WikiSpooks. https://archive.ph/BDIZC)) ==== Partnerships ==== === Microsoft === In April 2020, BlackRock and [[Microsoft]] announced a strategic partnership where BlackRock’s Aladdin infrastructure will be hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to "enable continuous innovation in the financial services industry". The two companies also outlined plans to work together on initiatives that leverage technology to improve and expand standardized, high-quality sustainability data and analytics.((//BlackRock and Microsoft form strategic partnership to host Aladdin on Azure as BlackRock readies Aladdin for next chapter of innovation.// (2020, April 7). Microsoft News Center. https://archive.ph/QjKGs)) === Coinbase === On August 4, 2022, [[Coinbase]] announced it had partnered with BlackRock to offer [[cryptocurrency]] trading services to its wealthy clients.((Daily Hodl Staff. (2022, August 4). //US Crypto Exchange Giant Coinbase Signs Huge Deal With Investment Firm BlackRock.// The Daily Hodl. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810020815/https://dailyhodl.com/2022/08/04/us-crypto-exchange-giant-coinbase-signs-huge-deal-with-investment-firm-blackrock/)) Part of the deal involved allowing users of BlackRock's Aladdin management platform to purchase [[Bitcoin]] through Coinbase Prime, with access to other altcoins coming at a future date. ==== Global Corporate Ownership ==== BlackRock owns controlling shares in many of the large corporations that make up the world economy. At the end of 2014, the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute reported that 65% of Blackrock's assets under management were made up of institutional investors like pension funds and sovereign wealth funds from oil producing states.((//Is BlackRock Too Big?// (2015, February 10). Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute; Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20150210074716/http://www.swfinstitute.org/swf-article/is-blackrock-too-big/)) ^ Name ^ Headquarters ^ Industry ^ Notes ^ | [[Airbnb]]((//Airbnb, Inc. (ABNB) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/VcNHl)) | United States | Lodging/Tourism | - | | [[Best Buy]]((//Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 21, 2022, from https://archive.ph/mqaY9)) | United States | Retail | Major shareholders are [[Vanguard]], [[BlackRock]], [[JP Morgan Chase]], [[State Street]], [[Bank of America]], and [[Charles Schwab]]. | | [[Clorox]]((//The Clorox Company (CLX) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://archive.ph/dBlK7)) | United States | Consumer Manufacturing | Major shareholders are BlackRock, [[Vanguard]], [[State Street]] and [[Wells Fargo]]. | | [[DuPont de Nemours]]((//DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (DD) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/J0uaY)) | United States | Chemical | - | | [[FedEx]]((//FedEx Corporation (FDX) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://archive.ph/iQCto)) ((Campaign for Accountability. (2019). //How the Asset Manager Boosted its Political Spending and Fought off Government Supervision.// https://campaignforaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CfA-BlackRock-Pay-to-Play-9-5-19.pdf)) | United States | Shipping | - | | [[Kellogg's]]((//Kellogg Company (K) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/AbkcK)) | United States | Food | - | | [[La-Z-Boy]]((//La-Z-Boy Incorporated (LZB) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/QMXwp)) | United States | Furniture Manufacturer | - | | [[Mastercard]]((//Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/OdFZ1)) | United States | Finance | Funder of the [[COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator]]((Suzman, M. (2020, March 10). //Announcing the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.// Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. https://archive.ph/Z8Q5l)) | | [[Tempur Sealy]]((//Tempur Sealy International, Inc. (TPX) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/CVDi2)) | United States | Furniture Manufacturer | - | | [[pharmaceutical_companies:Vertex Pharmaceuticals]]((//Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) Stock Major Holders.// Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://archive.ph/n8mpv)) | United States | Pharmaceutical | - | ===== Influence ===== Journalist Heike Buchter concludes from her research in the German newspaper Handelsblatt that "no government, no authority has such a comprehensive and deep insight into the global financial and corporate world as BlackRock."((Buchter, H. //BlackRock-Chef Larry Fink: Der Vier-Billionen-Dollar-Mann.// Handelsblatt. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://archive.ph/R3xq8)) An article published in 2018 in The Journal of Finance, //Anticompetitive Effects of Common Ownership//, by Jose Azar, Martin C. Schmalz, and Isabel Tecu, criticizes the empirical effect of large exchange-traded fund (ETF)-providers, namely BlackRock, [[Vanguard]] and [[State Street]], as measured against assets managed by the largest providers based on the competitive behavior between the companies. As a result of this dominant market position, competition in the market price for goods or services only takes place only to a limited extent.((Azar, J., Schmalz, M. C., & Tecu, I. (2018). //Competitive Effects of Common Ownership: Evidence from the Airline Industry.// SSRN Electronic Journal, 73(4). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2427345)) According to the study, prices are about 11% higher at the expense of consumers. In September 2019, the Center for Accountability published a report that examines BlackRock's lobbying activities in the United States and shows that BlackRock has visibly expanded its lobbying activities and donations to politicians since the 2008 financial crisis.((Dewan, B. (2019, September 5). //New Report Details How BlackRock Fought Off Government Regulation by Spending Big in Washington.// Campaign for Accountability. https://archive.ph/xN8DE)) According to the report, BlackRock tried to be classified by the US authorities as "non-systemically important" in order to avoid closer monitoring by state actors.((Campaign for Accountability. (2019). //How the Asset Manager Boosted its Political Spending and Fought off Government Supervision.// https://campaignforaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CfA-BlackRock-Pay-to-Play-9-5-19.pdf)) The report concludes that "while BlackRock claims to be concerned with socially conscious behaviour, it has embraced policies that could put American consumers at risk. BlackRock's political influence could soon grow to match its power in the financial marketplace." ===== Drivers of Propaganda ===== * [[https://commonreader.wustl.edu/how-a-company-called-blackrock-shapes-your-news-your-life-our-future/|How a Company Called BlackRock Shapes Your News, Your Life, Our Future]]((Cooperman, J. (2021, September 15). //How a Company Called BlackRock Shapes Your News, Your Life, Our Future.// Common Reader; Washington University in St. Louis. https://archive.ph/NqHQZ))