How big is BIG?

It's likely you've never heard of the company, they try hard to stay out of the media limelight. It's likely you may have a dim knowledge of their scope, their controlling assets, their power. But there are certain details very few folks know about BlackRock, inc. 

They are the largest investment company in the world, with nearly ten TRILLION dollars in assets under their management. Right, that's not a typo. For perspective, economic analysts estimate there is about forty trillion dollars in total global assets under active management. Thru their IShares and Vanguard groups of funds, and a myriad of other interests, BlackRock manages a quarter of the world's total wealth. How is this even possible? 

Not just possible, it's today's reality. Imagine the clout, influence, priority-- plug in whatever advantage you like-- such a behemoth company flexes. Imagine how much political power wealth on this level must command. Imagine the global reach of a company that can buy a dozen Elon Musks and another dozen Jeff Bezos.

How did this ever happen so quietly? When and why did this crazy corporate Godzilla emerge, who was behind it all? One man, UCLA MBA grad Larry Fink. Along with two more co-founders, they formed the company in 1988 as Blackstone Group, focusing initially on asset and risk management. The company has always had a strongly political and exclusively Democratic connection and sundry menu of goals, including, environmental, human rights, and other progressive social causes as part of its fiscal strategy. Paradoxically, BlackRock has also been the world's primary weapons and oil trader and enabler, no matter the buyer, no matter the geopolitical effect. 

Branching out over three decades into investing software, index funds, and every related corporate investment service, the company today has twenty thousand employees, a hundred billion in assets, and last year generated nearly eighteen billion in income. With clients in a hundred countries, BlackRock essentially controls one out of every four global dollars. That's how big. Is this a good thing for the US? 

One company with its hand in so many aspects of the global economy? One company that can affect nearly every corner of world commerce and asset concentration, that moves markets with its sheer size and scope? What is BlackRock's agenda? Shouldn't Americans ask at this point? Or, has that deal already been struck?