Hell hath no fury like a comptroller scorned; just ask Larry Fink. The CEO of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is currently embroiled in an uncomfortable ménage à trois with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and NYC Comptroller Brad Ladner. Embrace fossil fuels, says Texas. Denounce them, says New York. So far, BlackRock has inexplicably tried to do both, hoping that the promises whispered in the ears of certain states wouldn’t be heard by others. But these whispers have now become political rallying cries, and BlackRock is paying the price.
Two weeks ago, the Texas comptroller — who oversees the state’s finances, including regulations affecting its $300 billion pension funds — accused BlackRock of “doublespeak” by “engaging in anti-oil and gas rhetoric publicly yet present[ing] a much different story behind closed doors.” NYC’s Ladner largely agrees, though from the opposite side. He noted an “alarming” “contradiction between Blackrock’s statements and
