BlackRock President Rob Kapito said that “entitled” Americans are about to deal with shortages of food and other goods, and should prepare accordingly.
BlackRock, which manages $10 trillion in assets, has been accused of making home ownership unaffordable for millions of citizens.
“For the first time, this generation is going to go into a store and not be able to get what they want,” Kapito told a meeting of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association. “And we have a very entitled generation that has never had to sacrifice.”
“I would put on your seat belts because this is something that we haven’t seen,” Kapito added, warning that Americans will soon face “scarcity inflation” – or rising prices compounded by shortages of everything from food and consumer goods to oil and gas.
The firm has grabbed headlines in recent years for buying up properties throughout the US and turning them over to the rental market. Although the UN has criticized BlackRock’s former owner, Blackstone, for “wreaking havoc with tenants’ right to security and contributing to the global housing crisis,” BlackRock has been hired by the US government to buy up mortgages on its behalf, bringing even more properties under its management.
Americans are expected to bear the brunt of the inflation Kapito warned about in the immediate term. According to estimates published by Bloomberg, the average US household will have to spend an extra $5,200 this year for the same basket of consumer goods.
BlackRock’s a bit evil
You will own nothing and be happy...hmmm.
