Before becoming the head of BlackRock, Larry Fink was a rising star at the investment bank First Boston. In the mid-1980s, Fink oversaw a mortgage-backed securities desk that was highly profitable. However, in 1986, the desk suffered a massive $100 million loss due to a miscalculation regarding interest rate movements. Fink has publicly acknowledged this error, famously stating, 'I screwed up.'

Following this financial loss, Fink’s standing at First Boston deteriorated, eventually leading to his exit from the firm. Rather than ending his career, this failure provided the impetus for Fink to shift his focus toward risk management. Alongside several colleagues, he founded BlackRock in 1988 with the specific goal of creating a firm that prioritized rigorous risk assessment to avoid the types of losses he had previously experienced. The firm grew rapidly, eventually becoming the dominant force in global asset management that it is today. While the narrative of his 'failure to success' story is well-documented, it highlights a pivotal moment in Wall Street history where a single trading error fundamentally changed the trajectory of the financial services industry.