BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warns the US economy may already be in recession

Fink said he believes the US has likely entered a period of negative growth, citing heightened uncertainty following President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on imports.

"I think we’re very close, if not in, a recession now," he said on Squawk on the Street. Despite Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on some levies, Fink noted that the move hasn’t done enough to stabilize market sentiment.

"I think you’re going to see, across the board, just a slowdown until there’s more certainty. And we now have a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs — that means longer, more elevated uncertainty," he emphasized.

While retail sales and job growth remain relatively strong, Fink warned this may reflect front-loaded consumer behavior driven by tariff fears, masking underlying economic weakness.

Clients on edge despite resilient megatrends

Though he ruled out a full-blown financial crisis, Fink acknowledged growing anxiety among clients.

"Uncertainty and anxiety about the future of markets and the economy are dominating client conversations," he said in a statement accompanying BlackRock’s Q1 earnings.

The asset manager posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share of $11.30 but missed revenue estimates slightly with $5.28 billion. The firm saw $84 billion in net inflows and ended March with a record $11.58 trillion in assets under management.

Fink remains optimistic about long-term structural shifts such as artificial intelligence, saying such "megatrends" are likely to continue regardless of short-term volatility.

His warning comes just days after chaos hit the bond market, where Treasury yields surged unexpectedly — a development that rattled Wall Street and raised fears the US is losing its safe-haven status.