Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has now reportedly taken a massive $2 billion in Florida assets away from BlackRock, Inc., whose CEO, Larry Fink, has championed “stakeholder capitalism” in order to utilize shareholders’ money to pay for and promote his radical woke agenda.
On Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced for the state that $1.43 billion of Florida’s Long Duration Portfolio and $600 million of its Short Term Investment Fund (STIF) administered by BlackRock will be removed from the company.
Florida’s Treasury will have withdrawn from BlackRock’s management all short and long-term investments held by the state by the beginning of 2023.
“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.” Patronis exclaimed.
“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. Florida’s Treasury Division is divesting from BlackRock because they have openly stated they’ve got other goals than producing returns.” He continued.
In August, DeSantis, along with Trustees of the State Board of Administration, passed a resolution directing the state of Florida’s fund managers to invest state funds in a manner prioritizing the highest return on investment for Florida’s taxpayers.
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