In an apparent culture war victory for conservatives, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he's throwing in the towel on ESG — environmental, social and governance — policies, in name at least, as a result of effective pushback against attempts by large asset managers such as BlackRock to force the adoption of woke standards that wouldn't otherwise be achievable through the democratic process.
Fink, according to Axios, admitted that conservative efforts — many of which Townhall has covered from the likes of Will Hild, Andy Puzder, Consumers' Research, and the State Financial Officers Foundation — made him regret being associated with ESG. "I'm ashamed of being part of this conversation," he said.
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— Will Hild (@WillHild) June 26, 2023
After we exposed the ESG scam for what it truly is, one of the main architects of the practice, @BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, said he’s “ashamed” to be a part of the debate.
His scheme has been exposed and he knows it:https://t.co/r37Z50M7hj
As such, Fink says he's "no longer using the term 'ESG' (environment, social and governance) because it is being politically 'weaponized.'" That is, Fink and BlackRock lost a large facet of the ESG battle in spectacular fashion and are giving up on the acronym, though attempts to use their power to achieve leftist aims are sure to continue under a different banner (more on that in a bit) that hasn't yet been made synonymous with going woke to the detriment of shareholders.
Fink's comments came in remarks at the Aspen Ideas Festival, and included an admission that "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' decision to pull $2 billion in assets hurt [BlackRock]."
Somewhat bizarrely, later in his conversation, Fink seemingly tried to walk back his sentiment about ESG:
- "I never said I was ashamed," he said, incorrectly. "I'm not ashamed. I do believe in conscientious capitalism."
- "I'm not going to use the word ESG because it's been misused by the far left and the far right," he added.
Ah, so "ESG" is out and "conscientious capitalism" is in as Fink's new label for using shareholder power and trillions in managed assets to require adherence to leftist ideology that includes, among other radical policies, forcing literally impossible "net-zero" standards.
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: @BlackRock CEO #LarryFink announces rebranding of #ESG now underway to “conscientious capitalism.” Fiduciary duty still rules supreme when it comes to investment decisions. 1/2
— State Financial Officers Foundation (@SFOF_States) June 26, 2023
Larry Fink "ashamed" to be part of ESG political debate https://t.co/4Br4cgoSJj
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