BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warns AI could be capitalist failure if it leaves workers behind
Fortune • • business
Key Points:
- BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned at the World Economic Forum that the rapid wealth created by AI is accruing mainly to owners of data and infrastructure, risking a repeat of globalization's negative impact on blue-collar workers by displacing white-collar workers without broad economic participation.
- Fink criticized the post-Cold War era for unprecedented wealth inequality, highlighting that while AI stocks surged and billionaires' net worth grew dramatically in 2025, the majority of workers and poorer populations are not benefiting and may even bear indirect costs like higher utility bills.
- As interim co-chair of the World Economic Forum, Fink emphasized the need for capitalism to evolve toward stakeholder capitalism, advocating for inclusive growth that benefits employees, consumers, and the public rather than
