BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Halting data center construction could lead to a recession in the U.S., warns $40 trillion debt

Larry Fink, CEO of the world's largest asset management company BlackRock, stated in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that if the United States implements "some kind of pause" on data center construction, it will plunge the U.S. economy into recession. He said, "A large part of our economy is built on such capital expenditure expansion." Data centers are buildings that house a large number of computers and provide computing power for artificial intelligence. Fink's remarks were in response to calls to halt data center construction due to concerns about environmental impacts.

Fink dismissed concerns about data centers, stating that most fears are based on "misinformation," and emphasized that "data centers are not the problem." He also pointed out their demand for labor in construction, energy infrastructure, and AI computing hardware. A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that at least 49% of Americans believe data centers negatively impact the environment and the quality of life for surrounding residents. Moody's estimates that U.S. capital expenditure on data centers will reach $700 billion this year, accumulating between $2.4 trillion and $2.48 trillion by 2030, with the global total reaching $7 trillion by the end of this decade.

Fink also warned about the government debt issue, stating that the U.S. fiscal deficit is having a serious impact, with national debt rising from $8 trillion in 2000 to $40 trillion in 2026, "an increase of $32 trillion over 26 years," causing a huge shock to credit demand and leading to larger government bond auction sizes. He believes that private capital needs to be unleashed to drive the U.S. economy to achieve 3% growth. BlackRock saw a net inflow of $205 billion in the third quarter, with revenue growth of 19%, adjusted earnings per share increasing by 38% year-on-year, and operating profit margin rising to 47.8%.