Back to Who is behind BlackRock?
Who is behind BlackRock?
Shows documented founders, leaders, board members, funders and owners. Not who made decisions, or why.
A connection is not evidence of wrongdoing.
1988 –
Who is behind BlackRock?
Shows documented founders, leaders, board members, funders and owners. Not who made decisions, or why.
1988
Founded by. 1988: Larry Fink founded BlackRock. Co-founder.
As Blackstone Financial Management, until Jul 1992: Larry Fink founded Blackstone Financial Management. Co-founder.
BlackRock dates its own founding to 1988, by Fink and seven partners.
Rob Kapito founded BlackRock. Co-founder.
Susan Wagner founded BlackRock. Co-founder.
1988 –
Led by. Since 1988: Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock.
BlackRock describes the firm as growing under his leadership since its founding in 1988.
Larry Fink, chair of BlackRock.
Current role as of October 2026; start date not recorded here.
1988
Money in. 1988: As Blackstone Financial Management, until Jul 1992: Blackstone invested in Blackstone Financial Management.
Schwarzman’s own account. Bloomberg, citing King of Capital, describes the capital as a $5 million credit line.
1988–1994
Owners. 1988–1994: As Blackstone Financial Management, until Jul 1992: Blackstone owns a stake in Blackstone Financial Management. 50%, as of 1988.
Blackstone took the stake for a $5 million credit line, per King of Capital as reported by Bloomberg. Its share fell to about 40% by 1989 and about 35% by 1992; Blackstone says it sold its interest in 1994.
1995 – 15 May 2020: The PNC Financial Services Group owns a stake in BlackRock. 22.4%, as of 6 May 2020.
Held through PNC Bancorp, Inc., a wholly owned PNC subsidiary. PNC sold the stake in a public offering and a buyback by BlackRock, both completed on 15 May 2020, keeping 500,000 shares to give to the PNC Foundation.
28 Feb 1995: The PNC Financial Services Group acquired BlackRock. $240M.
PNC was then named PNC Bank Corp. It agreed to the purchase on 16 June 1994. The price was $71 million in cash at closing and $169 million in debt payable to the firm’s partners (BlackRock’s 1999 prospectus).
29 Sep 2006 – 1 Jun 2011: Merrill Lynch owns a stake in BlackRock. 49.3%, as of 29 Sep 2006.
45% of the voting stock. PNC’s share fell from about 69% to about 34%. Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch on 1 January 2009; BlackRock bought back Bank of America’s last shares on 1 June 2011.
1 Dec 2009 – 29 May 2012: Barclays owns a stake in BlackRock. 19.8%, as of 1 Dec 2009.
4.8% of the voting stock; 37,566,771 shares in all. Barclays sold all of its BlackRock shares on 29 May 2012.
until 15 May 2020: The PNC Financial Services Group owns a stake in BlackRock. 70%, as of 31 Dec 1999.
After the initial public offering of 1 October 1999 (9 million shares at $14 each). PNC’s 2020 exit is already recorded.
The Kuwait Investment Authority owns a stake in BlackRock. 5.14%, 7,993,064 shares, as of 31 Mar 2026.
Held for and on behalf of the Government of the State of Kuwait. Percentage from BlackRock’s 2026 proxy table; the share count comes from the KIA’s Schedule 13G filed on 7 July 2020.
Shows documented founders, leaders, board members, funders and owners. Not who made decisions, or why.
A connection is not evidence of wrongdoing.
Drawn from the sourced links on its answer page. Change a link and this story changes with it.