Laurence D Fink

Early life and education

Fink grew up in a Jewish family in Van Nuys, California, where his mother was an English professor and his father owned a shoe store. He earned a BA in Political Science from UCLA in 1974. Fink is also a member of Kappa Beta Phi. He then received an MBA in Real Estate at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management in 1976.

1970s

Fink started his career in 1976 at First Boston, a large New York-based investment bank. Eventually taking charge of First Boston's bond department, Fink was instrumental in the creation and development of the mortgage-backed security market in the United States. At First Boston, Fink was a member of the Management Committee, a Managing Director, and co-head of the Taxable Fixed Income Division; he also started the Financial Futures and Options Department, and headed the Mortgage and Real Estate Products Group.

Fink added as much as $1 billion to First Boston’s bottom line. He was successful at the bank until 1986, when his department lost $100 million due to his incorrect prediction about where interest rates were headed. The experience influenced his decision to start a company that would invest clients' money while also incorporating comprehensive risk management as well.

In 1988, Fink co-founded BlackRock under the corporate umbrella of The Blackstone Group and became a Director and CEO of BlackRock. When BlackRock split from Blackstone in 1994, Fink retained his positions (as Director and CEO), which he continued to hold after BlackRock became more independent in 1998. His other positions at the company have included Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Executive and Leadership Committees, Chair of Corporate Council, and Co-Chair of the Global Client committee. BlackRock went public in 1999.

2000s

In 2003, Fink helped to negotiate the resignation of the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Grasso, who was being widely criticized for his $190 million pay package. In 2006 Fink led the merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, which doubled BlackRock’s asset management portfolio. That same year, BlackRock's $5.4 billion purchase of Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, a Manhattan housing complex, became the largest residential-real-estate deal in U.S. history. When the project ended in default, BlackRock clients lost their money, including the California Pension and Retirement System, which lost about $500 million. The U.S. government contracted with BlackRock to help clean up after the financial meltdown of 2008. Although BlackRock is widely believed to have been the best choice for the cleanup job, Fink's longstanding relationships with senior government officials have led to questions about potential conflict of interest regarding government contracts awarded without competitive bidding.

In December 2009, BlackRock purchased Barclays Global Investors, at which point the company that Fink co-founded 22 years previously became the largest money-management firm on the planet. Despite his great influence, he is not widely known for that influence, apart from his regular appearances on CNBC. BlackRock paid Fink $23.6 million in 2010. By 2016, BlackRock had $5 trillion under management, with 12,000 employees in 27 countries.

Most recently, Fink received the 2016 ABANA Achievement Award in New York City. The ABANA Achievement Award recognizes an individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership in banking and finance and who has displayed a proven commitment to positive professional cooperation between the US and the Middle East and North Africa. ABANA Chairperson Mona Aboelnaga Kanaan pointed out that this is only the second time in thirty years that ABANA, founded in 1983 as the “Arab Bankers Association of North America,” has given the award to a non-Arab recipient. ”

Community involvement

Fink serves on the board of trustees of New York University, where he holds various chairmanships including chair of the Financial Affairs Committee. He also co-chairs the NYU Langone Medical Center board of trustees and is a trustee of the Boys and Girl's Club of New York. Fink is also on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation. Fink founded the Lori and Laurence Fink Center for Finance & Investments at UCLA Anderson in 2009, and currently serves as chairman of the board.

In December 2016, Fink joined a business forum assembled by then president-elect Donald Trump to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues.

Personal life

Fink has been married to his wife, Lori, since the mid-1970s. The couple owns homes in Manhattan, North Salem, and Vail, Colorado. The couple has three children. Joshua, the eldest son, is CEO of Enso Capital, a hedge fund in which Fink owns a stake. Fink is a lifelong Democrat.