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Two years after buying Nigerian billionaire Adebayo Ogunlesi’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in a $12.5 billion deal, BlackRock Inc. has reached another milestone. The world’s largest asset manager said assets under management climbed to $14 trillion, underscoring the scale it has built as demand for global investment products continues to widen.
The New York-based firm, led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, disclosed the figures in its fourth-quarter earnings report. BlackRock recorded a quarterly record of $342 billion in net inflows, lifting full-year inflows to $698 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $13.16 for the quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of $12.44. Revenue rose to $7 billion, above the $6.75 billion consensus forecast.
BlackRock posts record inflows, payouts
Those results capped a strong year. For full-year 2025, BlackRock posted adjusted earnings per share of $48.09, while revenue increased 19 percent to $24.22 billion. The board approved a 10 percent increase in the quarterly dividend to $5.73 per share and authorized the repurchase of an 7 million shares, signaling confidence in cash generation and balance-sheet strength.
Exchange-traded funds remained a major contributor. ETFs drew $181 billion in net inflows during the fourth quarter and $527 billion for the year. BlackRock’s retail business added $82 billion in the quarter, while cash management products attracted $74 billion as investors looked for liquidity and yield amid shifting market conditions.
“BlackRock enters 2026 with accelerating activity across our platform, coming off the strongest year and quarter of net inflows in our history,” Fink said. Clients, he added, entrusted the firm with $698 billion of new assets in 2025, driving 9 percent organic base fee growth.
Ogunlesi’s influence spans finance and innovation
The growth comes as BlackRock continues to integrate GIP, which it acquired in January 2024 for $12.5 billion to expand its reach in infrastructure investing. Ogunlesi, 72, co-founded GIP after spending more than two decades at Credit Suisse and built the firm into the world’s largest independent infrastructure manager, overseeing more than $100 billion in assets. Its portfolio spans transport networks, energy assets and natural resources across multiple continents.
Following the acquisition, Ogunlesi became a senior managing director at BlackRock and joined its Global Executive Committee. In 2025, he also joined the board of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT. OpenAI has raised tens of billions of dollars and recently agreed to a cloud computing arrangement with Oracle valued at $300 billion over five years.
Separately, GIP is in advanced discussions to acquire AES Corp., a U.S. power producer valued at roughly $40 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks highlight continued investor interest in large-scale energy assets as utilities and infrastructure groups adapt to changing power demand. Ogunlesi has also renewed his focus on Nigeria. His involvement could help bolster confidence in the country’s reform agenda and support efforts to deepen trade, transport and energy links across West Africa.
