Nobody has more money than the American financial investor BlackRock. The group manages more than six trillion dollars. If you have that much money, you have a lot of influence. But what exactly does that mean for all of us? There have long been experts who see BlackRock's incredible size as a threat to free competition and the stability of the financial markets.
It is the borrowed money from customers that gives BlackRock immense power. Because BlackRock decides what happens to the trillions of dollars. The financial investor used them to buy into leading global corporations. BlackRock is currently a major shareholder in Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, McDonald's, Siemens, BASF, Bayer and many, many more. However, BlackRock's influence extends far beyond corporate holdings. The investor advises central banks and finance ministers and has access to heads of state. No other corporation and no authority in the world today has such comprehensive insight into the global financial world as BlackRock. In this context, experts also warn against “Aladdin”, the company's computer-aided analysis program. Its algorithms are no longer only responsible for risk management at BlackRock, but also for that of other investors. As a result, the market is being more and more brought into line - and more susceptible to crises. Financial experts are wondering: How big can BlackRock's influence be? She is concerned that the growing dominance of American financial investors could lead to a dreaded "run for the exit" in a future stock market crisis, to a panic in which everyone just wants to sell their shares...