The US company Blackrock is the first financial service provider in the world to manage more than ten trillion dollars. That’s a record for the US company and the highest total ever reported by an asset manager. Last year, Blackrock managed $8.7 trillion. For comparison: the state budget of the Federal Republic last year was the equivalent of 570 billion dollars. US government spending was also below Blackrock’s figure last year at $9.6 trillion.
Founded by Larry Fink, the company manages money from sovereign wealth funds, banks and pension funds. Private investors may also come into contact with the company, since it is listed on the stock exchange and issues ETFs under the iShares name. In Germany, Blackrock has a stake in most of the major DAX companies, such as Vonovia, Daimler, SAP, Deutsche Post and Deutsche Bank. In recent years, Blackrock has used its shares to encourage companies to become more sustainable.
The financial service provider also became known in this country through a remarkable personality: Friedrich Merz, who is running for the CDU presidency, managed the German business for several years. Compared to the assets under management, Blackrock earned comparatively little: $1.6 billion.