Germany will be the first country in which a former BlackRock official becomes head of government. Friedrich Merz was not a "lobbyist," as is often described. He not only received a salary, but also held a leadership role within the group: the CDU politician was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the subsidiary BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland Aktiengesellschaft from 2016 to 2020. He reported to the New York headquarters of the largest capital organizer in the Western world, led by the United States. Merz was tasked with driving BlackRock's expansion in Germany. Merz as a BlackRock official in Germany. Since the Supervisory Board's bonuses only amounted to 150.000 euros per year, he was awarded a consulting contract, the fees for which both parties have kept secret to this day. So, when it comes to a lot of money from people who already have a lot of money anyway—and especially when it comes to much, much more money—BlackRock/Merz not only keep quiet together, but also hide their vast wealth in an organized manner. We'll get to that later. During those years, Merz, a BlackRock official, organized and accompanied meetings between his boss at BlackRock, Larry Fink, who had flown in from New York, and the then Finance Ministers Wolfgang Schäuble/CDU and his successor Olaf Scholz/SPD. Merz also arranged meetings with Chancellor Helge Braun and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, both CDU members, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and State Secretary for Finance Jörg Kukies, both SPD members, all in secret. During these years, BlackRock became Germany's largest shareholder—that is, the largest co-owner of Germany's hundred largest companies. And this was under long-time Chancellor Angela Merkel, who approved everything in secret without any conflict with Merz. Merkel's chief financial advisor, banker Lars-Hendrik Röller, head of the Federal Chancellery's Department of Finance and Economic Affairs, left with Merkel in 2021—and where did he go? To BlackRock, of course. Merz and Merkel may have their petty German conflicts with each other, but both kowtow to the great man.