# Robert Kapito Co-founder and president of [[BlackRock]], the world's largest asset manager with over $11 trillion in assets under management. While [[Larry Fink]] serves as the public face and CEO, Kapito has been the operational engine behind BlackRock's growth from an eight-person startup in 1988 into the dominant force in global asset management. Kapito oversees the firm's portfolio management groups and is responsible for day-to-day investment processes. Kapito matters to the vault as the other half of BlackRock's leadership. The right's campaign against [[ESG]] investing — particularly state-level efforts to divest pension funds from BlackRock — targets the firm Kapito co-built. While Fink draws the political fire, Kapito's operational control means he shapes the investment strategies that anti-ESG activists are actually fighting against. ## See Also - [[BlackRock]] — the firm he co-founded - [[Larry Fink]] — his co-founder and CEO - [[ESG]] — the investment framework that made BlackRock a political target