As ordinary households brace for higher energy bills and rising inflation driven by the Iran war, the world’s largest investment firms have watched their stakes in oil and gas companies surge in value. The numbers are staggering.
The Mirror has revealed that BlackRock, the New York-based asset manager, oversees more than £10 trillion in assets on behalf of governments, pension funds, and wealthy individuals. It is also the largest shareholder in Centrica, the owner of British Gas.
Since the Iran war erupted at the end of February, the value of BlackRock’s stake in Centrica has jumped by more than £30 million. Its holdings in Shell have leapt by £860 million. Its BP investments are up £580 million. It also holds stakes in Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.
It is not just BlackRock. German chemicals giant BASF sold a 5% stake in North Sea producer Harbour Energy in late March, weeks after the war began, netting £36 million more than it would have received before the crisis.
Meanwhile, Harbour Energy chief executive Linda Z Cook has seen her personal shareholding rise by millions.
The knock-on effects for UK households, already navigating a cost of living crisis, will be felt at the petrol pump, on energy bills and through wider inflation.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:
“Behind these share price gains sit a small group of the world’s most powerful investment firms. These are not passive bystanders. They are the financial architecture that keeps oil and gas profits flowing from the pockets of ordinary people into the pockets of those who already have the most.
“That the world’s biggest investment firms will have seen their holdings surge in value as ordinary households face soaring bills will sicken anyone struggling with the economic consequences of Trump’s conflict.
“And it is worth remembering that these firms are also among the most powerful lobbying voices in global financial markets.
“The concentration of energy wealth in the hands of a small number of giant investment firms underlines why a strong windfall tax, with revenues redirected to households, is not just fair, it is essential.
“If the Government is serious about using these revenues to help people struggling with their bills, it must resist the lobbying power of an industry whose backers have rarely had it so good.”