The artificial intelligence boom could worsen wealth inequality unless more people can share its gains, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in a letter to shareholders.
Fink encouraged broader participation in investment, saying that this could help distribute market gains from technologies like AI.
“The vast majority of wealth has flowed to people who owned assets, not to people who earned most of their money by working,” Fink wrote. “Now AI threatens to repeat that pattern at an even larger scale—concentrating wealth among the companies and investors positioned to capture it.”
In the letter, Fink said that providing children with investment accounts at birth could aid in wealth-building and allow more people to invest.
The United States has begun offering these early wealth-building accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028, with the Treasury Department saying almost 3.5 million accounts had been opened by 6 March.
“We’ll see how these accounts evolve, but if they are structured thoughtfully, and paired with existing investment vehicles for education and retirement (like 529 and 401(k) plans), this could be a very significant step toward more young Americans growing with their country,” wrote Fink.
Skilled trades will largely be insulated from AI-induced job losses in the near term, Fink projected. BlackRock said earlier in March that it would launch a US$100 million philanthropic plan to support U.S. skilled trades training programs.
Fink also called for investing a portion of the U.S. Social Security retirement benefits system into markets, recommending a similar approach to Australia’s funds.
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) shares closed 1.7% higher at $974.58, but dipped 0.2% after-hours. It had $14 trillion in assets under management at the end of 2025, and its market capitalisation is $151.59 billion.
