MONEY GIANT: BlackRock Now Manages $15.5 Trillion, Equal to Half U.S. Economy...

BlackRock's $15.5 trillion in assets under management now exceeds half the size of the U.S. economy—a milestone that reflects both the firm's expansion and the concentration of wealth management in the hands of a few mega-firms. The 15% growth surge reflects gains across stock and bond markets over the past year, as well as inflows from retirement accounts and institutional investors seeking passive index funds, BlackRock's core business. The figure underscores how thoroughly asset management has become dominated by a small number of players, with BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street collectively controlling trillions in retirement savings and corporate shareholdings worldwide.