Larry Fink cofounded BlackRock with a $5M investment from Blackstone cofounder Stephen Schwarzman in 1988, before officially severing ties with Blackstone in 1994.

Listen to a sit-down interview with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to learn more about his background, the lessons he's learned throughout his career, and his outlook for the future.

BlackRock played an integral role in the Federal Reserve's response to the Great Recession, managing about $30B of hard-to-sell Bear Stearns assets on behalf of the New York Fed.

In 2023, BlackRock founder Larry Fink turned from an outspoken champion of the 'environmental, social, and governance' (ESG) framework to a critic.

BlackRock acquired Merrill Lynch's asset management division, bringing in more than $500B in assets and pushing the firm's total assets under management above $1T in 2006.

BlackRock sponsored the Federal Reserve's purchasing of corporate debt through exchange-traded funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, while it simultaneously sold some of its own shares on the secondary market—sparking controversy over potentially unfair advantages.

Explore a tool that shows how much stake large asset managers, including BlackRock, hold in public companies.

The Rockefellers' family office expanded to become a multifamily office

The Rockefellers created the first known single-family office in the late 1800s but the firm has evolved since to serve many wealthy American families.

Track all of the acquisitions in BlackRock's history, from eFront to Preqin.

'Aladdin,' which stands for the asset, liability, debt, and derivative investment network, is BlackRock's central software system that models, forecasts, and provides an operating system.

The history of the Rockefellers in 60 seconds

John D. Rockefeller—the world's first billionaire—once controlled 90% of the US oil refining market, built Standard Oil through vertical integration, and used his fortune to fund universities, museums, and landmarks like Rockefeller Center.

How the Rockefellers' wealth evolved over time

The Rockefellers built one of the most powerful business empires in US history. By the early 1900s, their company, Standard Oil, controlled over 90% of the US oil market.

Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Bumble's former parent company in 2019 ahead of the dating app's IPO

The New York City-based investment management company paid about $3B for its stake in female-focused dating app Bumble. The app's 2021 IPO that made Bumble Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd a billionaire at age 31 proved lucrative for Blackstone as well.

BlackRock says investor demand and improvements in underlying fund technology have supercharged ETF availability in 2025

Investors are likely most familiar with ETFs that invest in an index or other grouping of stocks. However, BlackRock breaks down a wide variety of options, including commodity ETFs, currency ETFs, and bond ETFs.

Ray Dalio allegedly punched one of his early bosses

Before founding his hedge fund, Dalio traded commodities and futures. In 1974, Dalio allegedly punched one of his departmental bosses, causing him to lose his job at Shearson Hayden Stone. He founded Bridgewater Associates the following year. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Today’s Rockefellers have become climate activists

The Rockefeller Family Fund has been engaged in more than 40 lawsuits against ExxonMobil, a company that John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil created.

Apollo Global Management and Blackstone are among the world's top 20 private credit fund managers

While Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager, Apollo Global Management is a large private equity firm. Apollo had $480B in private credit assets under management as of January 2025.

A timeline of the Rockefeller family

The Rockefeller family timeline (as it relates to the business world, at least) starts in 1839 with John D. Rockefeller’s birth. In the nearly 200 years since, his offspring have gotten involved in everything from the Watergate scandal to the McCormick & Company spice business.

The 'Big Three' asset managers—Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock—collectively manage more than $30T in assets and are the largest shareholders in roughly 88% of all the companies listed on the S&P 500.

How John D. Rockefeller became the world's first billionaire

From a young age, John D. Rockefeller knew he was interested in business. He worked as a bookkeeper and sold candy prior to starting the business empire that would help cement the Rockefeller name in history: Standard Oil.

The origins of modern family offices date back to the 1500s

Wealth management for families with massive fortunes has evolved over the centuries, with the Rockefellers establishing the first single-family office in 1882.

A star investment banker was fired, launching a decade-long court fight

Star bankers are the core of an investment banking firm's business, so when Perella Weinberg let their restructuring guru Mike Kramer go in 2015, he sued, launching a ten-year legal fight.

John D. Rockefeller’s father had a nefarious past

William A. Rockefeller Sr. earned his money via various schemes that included pretending to be a doctor to sell “herbal medicines” and posing as a deaf person to peddle for money.

Before Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2008 with more than $600B in debt, the Federal Reserve tried to orchestrate a private deal to save the then-fourth-largest investment bank in the US.

Listen to BlackRock's head of behavioral finance, Emily Haisley, explain the psychology of investing—including controlling biases, managing ego, and being prepared for volatility.

Ray Dalio considers betting against the US debt load in 1982 among his biggest failures

In the early days of his hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio calculated that the US had accumulated more debt than it was possible to repay. He took short positions in the market that backfired when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and avoided a global economic collapse. Dalio lost everything and even had to borrow $4K from his dad—but often describes this experience as one of the most pivotal moments in his career.

Former US Senator Mitt Romney cofounded a revolutionary private equity firm

Mitt Romney cofounded Bain Capital—a private investment group that manages more than $215B—in the 1980s before becoming a politician. Bain Capital is credited with revolutionizing private equity by focusing on consolidating and streamlining business operations rather than relying on financial engineering to increase company profits.

American Express briefly owned Lehman Brothers

In 1984, Shearson, a retail banking company and American Express subsidiary, bought the investment banking company Lehman Brothers—best known for its historic 2008 collapse—for $360M. The businesses were then called Shearson Lehman/American Express. American Express spun off Lehman Brothers with an IPO in 1994 that attracted nearly $3B in new capital.

The term ‘Black Friday’ originally referred to a 1869 US gold market crash

After financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the US gold market, the market crashed on September 24, 1869, bankrupting thousands of investors and sending stock prices plummeting by 18%. That day became known as “Black Friday” long before the unofficial retail holiday emerged.

What happens when a hedge fund grows too big, too fast?

Dmitry Balyasny, who heads what has become one of the top US hedge fund firms, got a crash course in finance as a teenager, when he started trading stocks—and started losing money. Balyasny went on to lose a whole lot more money. But, this time, it wasn’t his to lose. To find out more about his firm’s remarkable comeback, read this article.