BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Retreats on ESG, Citing Florida’s and DeSantis’ Influence

ASPEN, COLORADO — Team DeSantis notched another political victory over the weekend, when BlackRock CEO Larry Fink conceded that Florida’s opposition to ESG has forced him to change his strategy.

Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival on Sunday, Fink backpedaled on his vision to manipulate society through corporate incentives.

“I'm ashamed of being part of this conversation,” Fink said, according to Axios. “It was never meant to be a political statement.”

Fink also swore off using the term ESG because “it's been misused by the far Left and the far Right.” In the place of “ESG” – short for Environment Social and Governance – he proffered an alternative euphemism to describe BlackRock compelling businesses to implement his globalist vision.

“I do believe in conscientious capitalism,” he said.

Fink admitted DeSantis’ decision to divest Florida’s $2 billion in state assets from BlackRock took a toll on the global asset management company.

READ MORE: DeSantis Vows to Fight Larry Fink and His Globalist Cronies

FLORIDA FIGHTS BACK ON ESG

Throughout much of the past year, DeSantis has railed against ESG, decrying it as “woke capitalism.”

Last month he signed a new bill that banned ESG practices in the state of Florida.

DeSantis also led the formulation of a multistate anti-ESG coalition in March, locking arms with 17 other governors to oppose the nefarious private sector scheme.

“This is an important issue, because it raises the question of who governs society,” DeSantis said back in July 2022.

“Do we govern ourselves through our Constitution and through our elections, or do we have these ‘Masters of the Universe’ occupying these commanding heights of society – are they able to use their economic power to impose policies on the country that they could not do at the ballot box?”

The governor’s press secretary Jeremy Redfern tweeted a meme championing an implicit victory revealed by Fink’s comments.

Last week, Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis lauded the governor’s leadership in taking on powerful global companies like BlackRock.

“When Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 3, we sent a message to the world that Florida is where ESG goes to die,” Patronis told The Florida Standard.

“Our state banking system should work on behalf of Floridians and not the political agenda of woke corporate overlords. Florida is fighting back.”