State Of Florida Yanks $2 Billion Investment From BlackRock Due To Firm's Woke Agenda

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BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, made the decision to prioritize climate change initiatives over profits. In response, the state of Florida is pulling $2 billion of its money from the firm.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis released a statement on Thursday that says the state will pull $600 million in short-term investments and freeze $1.43 billion in long-term assets. The statement says the state will look to reinvest those funds with another money manager by the beginning of 2023.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been at the tip of the spear of politicians fighting against woke corporations like BlackRock

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been at the tip of the spear of politicians fighting against woke corporations like BlackRock. (Getty images)

Patronis also said that he -- and, in turn, the state of Florida -- needs "partners within the financial services industry who are as committed to the bottom line as we are" and he doesn't "trust BlackRock’s ability to deliver."

"BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is on a campaign to change the world," Patronis continued. "In an open letter to CEOs, he’s championed ‘stakeholder capitalism’ and believes that ‘capitalism has the power to shape society.’ To meet this end, the asset management company has leaned heavily into Environmental, Social, and Governance standards – known as ESG – to help police who should, and who should not, gain access to capital.

“Whether stakeholder capitalism, or ESG standards, are being pushed by BlackRock for ideological reasons, or to develop social credit ratings, the effect is to avoid dealing with the messiness of democracy. I think it’s undemocratic of major asset managers to use their power to influence societal outcomes. If Larry, or his friends on Wall Street, want to change the world – run for office. Start a non-profit. Donate to the causes you care about.

“Using our cash, however, to fund BlackRock’s social-engineering project isn’t something Florida ever signed up for. It’s got nothing to do with maximizing returns and is the opposite of what an asset manager is paid to do."

BlackRock has made its priorities clear and now so has Florida

In August, Fox Business reported that a consumer advocacy group warned those with investments in BlackRock that their money was being used to fund these ideological priorities.

"BlackRock is using money that doesn’t belong to them to push an extreme agenda with no regard for American families who are paying the price not only now, but through their pension funds which are being weaponized to the detriment of their potential profits," Will Hild, the executive director of Consumers’ Research, told FOX Business in a statement. 

In January, BlackRock became the first asset-management company to hold over $10 trillion in assets, according to Bloomberg. However, according to Reuters, that number dropped to around $8 trillion as of October.

Florida's $2 billion investment represents a drop in the bucket for a company holding over $8 trillion.

However, the message is clear: stop using other people's money to fund woke causes.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.