NLPC has scrutinized the leadership and judgment of BlackRock Chairman/CEO Larry Fink going back to at least early 2018, when his highly influential annual investor letter (some might say intimidation letter) espoused (some might say demanded) companies implement “social purpose” priorities and “show how [they make] a positive contribution to society.” These “stakeholder” considerations, elevated over shareholder primacy, of course emphasized environmental, social and governance (ESG), which includes policies such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), climate change and other social justice initiatives.
Here is an interview from 2017 in which Fink stated that it was BlackRock’s responsiblity to “force behaviors” on companies they invest in:
Larry Fink in 2017: pic.twitter.com/0iwY6wquzf
— Harry (@HonHarryHawkins) March 28, 2026
TRANSLATION: “Nice company ya got there; be a shame if something happened to it.”
Now, however, it appears Fink has disavowed those former passions — or more likely he’s conceding to the current political environment which has produced a backlash against those policies:
In a recent interview with Fox News, Larry Fink acknowledged the “woke” era may have gone too far and described society as cyclical, suggesting the pendulum is now swinging back against the woke agenda.
“The pendulum moves all the time. In BlackRock’s case, we are responsible for managing money for everyone,” Fink said.
“Do I believe the pendulum five years ago was too far? Yes.”
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink—who played an instrumental role in forcing woke diversity quotas on companies—now concedes that the “woke era” was “a failed experiment”. pic.twitter.com/7p2E97i9MF
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) March 28, 2026
Back in 2021 NLPC’s Chairman, Peter Flaherty, opined that a board insurgency by climate activists at ExxonMobil was aided and abetted by Fink, to the detriment of the company’s investors:
Last week, Exxon Mobil, one of the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas companies, lost a critical board fight with Engine No.1, a “woke” small investor group. The win was predictably spun by the mainstream media as a David vs. Goliath story as well as a milestone moment for a new type of altruistic Environmental, Social and Governance investor.
The truth, however, is more cynical than heroic. Among other things, this is a story of how a billionaire like Larry Fink, a true Wolf of Wall Street, uses other people’s money to simultaneously camouflage his checkered past and help promote himself as an elder statesman of the markets, a beneficent oligarch with a penchant for saving the planet.
The popular media narrative is that this latest Exxon shareholder campaign was conducted by a small group of activist shareholders. But Engine No. 1‘s effort to chivy Exxon into changing its business strategy to please environmentalist investors and their allies would likely have gone nowhere without the timely intervention of Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock.
Exxon is still dealing with the fallout from Fink’s pressure tactics to this day.
NLPC has criticized Fink and his use of BlackRock for their ESG-themed corporate thuggery ever since. Below are some of our past articles calling him to account:
“BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Calls Upon Business to Save the World”
“Larry Fink’s Appeasement of Climate Activists is Failing”
“BlackRock CEO Larry Fink To Be Biden’s Treasury Secretary Fresh Off China Partnership?”
“Will BlackRock Thwart Progress on China Human Rights?”
“BlackRock’s Fink is a Bully, Except When It Comes to China”
“Now BlackRock CEO Fink Wants to Tell Georgia How to Run Elections”
“As China is Called Out Over Genocide, BlackRock Sees a Business Opportunity”
The above articles run through 2021. Below are NLPC’s observations starting in 2023, when Fink’s rhetoric began to back away from ESG priorities:
“BlackRock’s Fink Now Believes ‘ESG’ is a Taboo Term”
“Larry Fink Whitewashes His Pro-ESG History”
“IT’S CONCLUSIVE: ‘ESG’ is Now a Dirty, Unacceptable Term”
“BLACKROCK FINK: ‘Elections Don’t Matter’; DONOR FINK: ‘Dems Must Win!’”
“Blackrock Distances Itself from Woke Policies”
The transformation may make some observers wonder: When Larry Fink pulls his jacket off the hanger and slips it on every morning, is the suit still empty?
