The state of Texas is withdrawing $8.5 billion in funding from the far-left investment firm BlackRock, which has been leading global efforts to force environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies on other corporations.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the decision was announced on Tuesday by the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF), which sent a letter declaring that BlackRock would no longer serve as the manager of the Navarro 1 Fund. This move marks the single largest divestment from BlackRock since the backlash first began several years earlier.
“The PSF’s relationship with Blackrock was not in compliance with Texas Government Code Section 809, commonly known as Senate Bill 13, which prohibits state investment in companies like Blackrock that boycott energy companies,” said Aaron Kinsey, chairman of the Texas State Board of Education, in a statement.
In response, BlackRock issued a defiant statement claiming that the company “is helping millions of Texans invest and save for retirement.”
“On behalf of our clients, we’ve invested more than $300 billion in Texas-based companies, infrastructure and municipalities, including $125 billion invested in the energy sector, including a $550 million joint venture with Occidental. We recently hosted an energy summit in Houston designed to explore how to strengthen Texas’ power grid,” said a BlackRock spokesman.
With at least $10 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock is the biggest asset manager in the world. It has been accused of using this immense wealth and power to strong-arm smaller companies into adopting left-wing policies, hiring practices, and other agendas with regards to so-called “global warming,” racial and sexual diversity, and support for left-wing political causes. Some have claimed that this is a violation of the company’s fiduciary duty, prioritizing politics over financial gain.
“Under Larry Fink’s leadership, BlackRock has been misusing client funds to push a political agenda for years. Nowhere was that more egregious than in Texas, where BlackRock was simultaneously trying to destroy the domestic oil and gas industry while managing funds that depended on royalties derived from that very same industry,” said Will Hild, Executive Director of Consumers’ Research. “A more flagrant violation of fiduciary duty is difficult to imagine.”
In 2022, BlackRock saw investors withdraw nearly $4.5 billion in protest over its promotion of ESG. In December of 2023, BlackRock was sued by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who claimed that the company was preventing consumers from “making an informed choice” with regards to the impact of ESG factors on various investments.