Short answers, pulled from the story.
BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Larry Fink, Robert Kapito, Susan Wagner, Barbara Novick, Bennett Golub, Hugh Frater, Ralph Schlosstein, and Keith Anderson. The firm started with a $5 million credit line from Peter Peterson of The Blackstone Group and was initially called Blackstone Financial Management.
BlackRock reported $12.53 trillion in assets under management as of the 30th of June 2025. This makes it the world's largest asset manager, ahead of any competitor.
Aladdin stands for Asset Liability and Debt and Derivative Investment Network. It is a risk-management and investment analytics platform that BlackRock launched in 2000 through its BlackRock Solutions division, and it is used by many major financial institutions worldwide.
West Virginia, Louisiana, and Florida have each divested money from or refused to do business with BlackRock because of the firm's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment policies. Louisiana removed $794 million in October 2022, and Florida divested $2 billion in December 2022.
In May 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department retained BlackRock Solutions to analyze, unwind, and price toxic assets held by Bear Stearns, AIG, Freddie Mac, Morgan Stanley, and other affected firms. The Federal Reserve also allowed BlackRock to superintend the $130 billion debt settlement involving Bear Stearns and AIG.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, ticker IBIT, launched on the 19th of January 2024 and was the first spot bitcoin ETF to reach $1 billion in trading volume. By May 2024 it was reported as the world's largest bitcoin fund, with nearly $20 billion in assets.