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.

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.

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 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.

In March 2008, Bear Stearns was the first major bank to collapse in the Great Recession—leading to panic across the entire global financial system.

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

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.

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

The Federal Reserve fought the Great Recession primarily with quantitative easing and repurchasing agreements.

To avoid a total collapse of the housing market, the US government took control of the two leading mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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

Commonly referred to as the 'bank bailout,' the Troubled Asset Relief Program disbursed $443B in an attempt to keep the financial system solvent.

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.

American International Group, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, received $182B from the federal government—the largest of any bailout in the wake of the Great Recession.

In 2007, Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, warned of an impending financial crisis.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed began a program of quantitative easing

This program injected trillions of dollars of new money into financial markets to stimulate the economy. The move catalyzed an 11-year bull run and was repeated during the pandemic. Experts argue such power could worsen wealth inequality and contribute to bubbles in housing and finance.

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.

Before the Great Recession, lax requirements to get a mortgage resulted in mass defaults that left nearly 19 million homes vacant.

Track how much the US government has spent on bailouts.

The financial crisis in 2008 had a major impact on many 401(k) plans

Amid the 2008 financial crisis, stocks and bonds cratered as the broader market floundered due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Investors with so-called "target-date" funds—which shift allocations based on the maturation of a fund—shared in the slump, with some funds declining by 20% or more just a year or two away from maturation.

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.

In 2008, the 'Big Short' mastermind Michael Burry made more than $700M.

Listen to an account of a community bank that was taken over by the FDIC in the Great Recession.

'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.

Who is Michael Burry?

Michael Burry is best known for shorting the mortgage bond market in 2007. Before the Great Recession, the legendary investor’s firm took a stake in GameStop and argued the company was being undervalued in 2019. Learn more about Burry’s historical impact on markets here.

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.

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.

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.

The 2008 financial system unraveled in a wave of speculation

Michael Lewis—author of the bestselling "The Big Short"—explains how a wave of speculation (among other factors) drove the 2008 collapse, from lenders issuing risky mortgages to Wall Street turning them into fragile securities. He also highlights the few outsiders who recognized the bubble and bet against it before the crash.

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.