Larry Fink, the face of ESG, says ‘the attacks are now personal’ for the first time in his career. ‘They are trying to demonize issues.’

Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive officer of BlackRock, speaks at event on the sidelines of the opening day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. (Credit: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Larry Fink is caught in the middle of the heated climate change debate. The CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has become a lightning rod for criticism from conservatives due to his push for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing over the past few years. ESG investing is a way of applying non-financial factors—like climate change initiatives or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs—to the analysis of investments.

Critics on the left have always viewed Fink’s ESG stance with skepticism as well, with some arguing that the whole ESG industry is just a market tactic—or outright destructive. It’s like giving “wheatgrass to a cancer patient,” Tariq Fancy, BlackRock’s former chief investment officer for sustainable investing, told the Financial Times in 2021. Davos on Tuesday, Fink said that he is now trying to “address the misconceptions” about his company’s policies—and something bad has happened to the discourse along the way.