Rob Kapito

Rob Kapito
Born	Robert Steven Kapito 8 2, 1957
Birthplace	Monticello, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive, investment manager
Title	President
Employer	BlackRock, Inc.
Known for	Co-founder and President of BlackRock, Inc.
Education	University of Pennsylvania (MBA, Wharton School); University of Michigan (BA)
Website	[https://www.blackrock.com/ Official site]

Robert Steven Kapito (born February 8, 1957) is an American business executive and investment manager who serves as President of BlackRock, Inc., the world's largest asset management firm. Kapito co-founded BlackRock in 1988 alongside Larry Fink and six other partners, and he has played a central role in building the company from a startup enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager into a global financial institution overseeing approximately $12.5 trillion in assets under management as of 2025. As President, Kapito has been responsible for the day-to-day management of BlackRock's global operations, overseeing the firm's portfolio management processes, investment strategies, and client service activities across approximately 70 offices in 30 countries. His leadership, alongside that of CEO Larry Fink, has shaped BlackRock's trajectory through major acquisitions, the expansion of its iShares exchange-traded fund platform, and the development of its Aladdin technology platform. Kapito's public remarks on economic conditions and generational attitudes toward inflation drew significant media attention in 2022, placing him among the more publicly visible figures in the asset management industry.

Early Life

Robert Steven Kapito was born on February 8, 1957, in Monticello, New York, a small city in the Catskill Mountains region of the state. He grew up in a middle-class family in the area, which at the time was known for its resort industry in the so-called "Borscht Belt" region of Sullivan County. Details regarding his parents and siblings remain largely private.

Kapito's upbringing in a modest community in upstate New York informed his later approach to finance and investment management. He attended local schools in the Monticello area before pursuing higher education at the University of Michigan, where he earned his undergraduate degree, and subsequently at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained his Master of Business Administration.

Education

Kapito attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He went on to attend the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most prominent business schools in the United States, where he earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA). At Wharton, Kapito studied alongside future business partner Larry Fink, with whom he would later co-found BlackRock. The connections and financial expertise Kapito developed during his time at Wharton proved instrumental in his subsequent career on Wall Street and in the founding of what would become the world's largest asset management firm.

Career

Early Career and Founding of BlackRock

Before co-founding BlackRock, Kapito worked in the fixed income division at First Boston, a major investment bank, where he gained experience in mortgage-backed securities and bond trading. This background in fixed income markets provided the foundation for BlackRock's initial business model.

In 1988, Kapito co-founded BlackRock alongside Larry Fink and six other partners. The firm was initially established as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, operating under the umbrella of The Blackstone Group. The founding team sought to combine investment management with sophisticated risk analytics, a model that differentiated BlackRock from many of its competitors at the time. From the outset, Kapito served as one of the firm's senior leaders, focusing on portfolio management, operations, and the development of the firm's investment processes.

The early years of BlackRock were defined by the firm's emphasis on understanding and managing risk in fixed income portfolios. Kapito was instrumental in developing the firm's institutional client relationships and in building the operational infrastructure that allowed BlackRock to scale its asset management capabilities. The firm's approach to combining technology-driven risk management with traditional asset management attracted institutional investors seeking greater transparency and analytical rigor in the management of their portfolios.

Growth and Expansion of BlackRock

Under the leadership of Fink as CEO and Kapito as President, BlackRock underwent a series of transformative expansions that reshaped the global asset management industry. The firm grew from its origins in fixed income into a diversified investment management company offering equity, multi-asset, alternative investment, and advisory services.

A pivotal moment in BlackRock's growth came with its acquisition of Barclays Global Investors (BGI) in 2009, which brought the iShares exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform under BlackRock's control. This acquisition made BlackRock the world's largest asset manager and positioned the firm as one of the dominant players in the rapidly growing ETF market. Along with Fidelity, Vanguard, and State Street, BlackRock became one of the so-called "Big Four" index fund managers, a designation reflecting the extraordinary concentration of passive investment assets among a small number of firms.

Kapito, as President, oversaw the integration of BGI's operations into BlackRock's existing platform and the continued expansion of the iShares product line. This role required managing the complex logistical and cultural challenges of combining two large financial organizations with distinct operational cultures and investment approaches.

BlackRock also developed its proprietary technology platform, Aladdin, which became one of the most widely used investment management and risk analytics systems in the financial industry. Aladdin tracks investment portfolios for many major financial institutions and serves as the backbone of BlackRock's own investment processes. The BlackRock Solutions division, which provides financial risk management services to external clients, further extended the firm's reach beyond traditional asset management.

In 2015, BlackRock acquired FutureAdvisor, a digital wealth management platform, for approximately $150 million, signaling the firm's interest in expanding into the burgeoning robo-advisory space and digital financial planning tools.

In 2017, BlackRock acquired Cachematrix, a technology firm specializing in cash management solutions, further expanding its technology capabilities.

In 2018, BlackRock continued its acquisition strategy with the purchase of Tennenbaum Capital Partners, expanding its alternative investment capabilities.

By 2025, BlackRock had grown to manage approximately $12.5 trillion in assets, maintained offices in approximately 70 locations across 30 countries, and served clients in 100 countries. The firm was ranked 210th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by revenue.

Role as President

As President of BlackRock, Kapito has been responsible for the firm's day-to-day operations and global investment management processes. His role has encompassed oversight of portfolio management groups, the development and implementation of investment strategies, and the maintenance of client relationships across BlackRock's diverse global client base, which includes sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, corporations, endowments, foundations, and individual investors.

Kapito has worked in tandem with CEO Larry Fink, with the two executives maintaining a long-standing partnership that has been central to BlackRock's organizational structure. Fink has generally served as the firm's primary public spokesperson and strategic visionary, while Kapito has focused on operational management and the execution of the firm's investment processes.

In September 2025, BlackRock expanded its global executive committee by adding 20 senior leaders, a move described as reflecting the firm's changing priorities and evolving leadership structure. This expansion of the executive committee was interpreted by industry observers as part of BlackRock's broader succession planning efforts. In April 2025, Fink stated publicly that he was not planning to leave his position as CEO in the near term, noting that BlackRock had a strong leadership team despite the departure of some senior leaders in recent years. Kapito has long been discussed as one of the potential candidates to eventually succeed Fink as CEO, though the question of BlackRock's leadership succession has remained an ongoing subject of speculation within the financial industry.

ESG Investing and Industry Controversies

BlackRock, under the leadership of Fink and Kapito, has sought to position itself as an industry leader in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in investment decision-making. In January 2020, Fink published a widely discussed annual letter to CEOs declaring that climate change would be a defining factor in companies' long-term prospects and that BlackRock would place sustainability at the center of its investment approach.

However, BlackRock's ESG positioning has drawn criticism from multiple directions. Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Amazon Watch, launched campaigns targeting BlackRock's investments in fossil fuels, arguing that the firm's holdings in coal, oil, and gas companies contradicted its stated commitment to addressing climate change. A 2019 report by Friends of the Earth highlighted what it described as BlackRock's continued substantial investments in fossil fuel companies. Research published by Urgewald identified major financial institutions, including BlackRock, as financing the expansion of the global coal plant fleet. In February 2020, climate activists barricaded BlackRock's Paris office in protest of the firm's fossil fuel investments.

Simultaneously, BlackRock faced political backlash from the opposite direction. The states of West Virginia, Florida, and Louisiana divested money from or refused to do business with the firm because of what they characterized as BlackRock's ESG policies, arguing that such policies were inconsistent with the economic interests of their states, particularly those dependent on fossil fuel industries.

In 2018, following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, BlackRock announced it would offer new investment funds that excluded stocks of gun manufacturers and retailers, including Walmart. This decision was met with protests at a BlackRock shareholder meeting by anti-gun violence advocates who sought further action from the firm.

"Entitled Generation" Remarks

In March 2022, Kapito drew significant public attention and criticism for remarks he made about younger generations' experience with inflation and economic scarcity. Speaking at a conference, Kapito warned that a "very entitled" generation of Americans would soon face shortages for the first time in their lives, and he advised them to "put their seatbelts on" in the face of rising inflation.

The remarks were widely reported and generated a substantial backlash, particularly among younger Americans and on social media. Critics pointed out that millennials and members of Generation Z had faced significant economic challenges, including the 2008 financial crisis, rising student debt burdens, increasing housing costs, and the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A commentary published in Jacobin magazine characterized Kapito's comments as tone-deaf, arguing that younger Americans were "struggling to find a foothold" economically and that describing them as entitled was inaccurate given the structural economic challenges they faced. The episode brought Kapito, who had typically maintained a lower public profile than CEO Larry Fink, into an unusual level of media and public scrutiny.

Personal Life

Kapito maintains a relatively private personal life compared to his professional prominence. He resides in the New York metropolitan area, consistent with his role at BlackRock's headquarters, which is located at 50 Hudson Yards in Manhattan, New York City.

Kapito has been involved in philanthropic activities, though detailed public documentation of his personal charitable work is limited. He is known to have connections to his alma maters, the University of Michigan and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

His long professional partnership with Larry Fink, spanning from their early careers through the founding and growth of BlackRock over more than three decades, has been one of the most enduring executive partnerships in the financial services industry.

Recognition

As co-founder and President of the world's largest asset management firm, Kapito is recognized as one of the most influential figures in global finance. BlackRock's position managing approximately $12.5 trillion in assets as of 2025 places the firm—and its senior leadership—at the center of global capital markets.

BlackRock's ranking at 210th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by revenue reflects the scale of the enterprise that Kapito helped build from its founding in 1988. The firm's Aladdin technology platform, its iShares ETF business, and its BlackRock Solutions risk management division are each major components of the global financial infrastructure, and Kapito's role in overseeing these operations has contributed to his standing within the industry.

Kapito's public visibility increased notably in 2022 following his remarks about inflation and younger generations, which were covered by major financial media outlets including Yahoo Finance, CNBC, and Jacobin.

Legacy

Rob Kapito's legacy is closely intertwined with that of BlackRock itself. As one of eight co-founders of a firm that grew from a startup in 1988 to the world's largest asset manager, Kapito helped shape the modern asset management industry. BlackRock's emphasis on combining investment management with technology-driven risk analytics, exemplified by the Aladdin platform, represented an approach that influenced how institutional investors worldwide manage their portfolios.

The firm's growth through strategic acquisitions—including the transformative purchase of Barclays Global Investors and its iShares ETF platform—reshaped the competitive landscape of the asset management industry and contributed to the broader shift from active to passive investment management that has characterized global financial markets in the 21st century.

BlackRock's involvement in ESG investing and corporate governance, while controversial, placed the firm at the center of debates about the role of large asset managers in addressing systemic issues such as climate change. The political backlash from some U.S. states, as well as criticism from environmental organizations, reflected the complex position that BlackRock—and by extension Kapito and Fink—occupied at the intersection of finance, politics, and environmental policy.

As questions about leadership succession at BlackRock have gained prominence, Kapito's decades-long role as President and his partnership with Fink have been cited as central elements of the firm's organizational stability and continuity.