Early life and education
Fink grew up in a Jewish family in Van Nuys, California, where his mother was an English professor and his father owned a shoe store.

Career
Fink started his career in 1976 at First Boston, a large New York-based investment bank. Eventually taking charge of First Boston's bond department, Fink was instrumental in the creation and development of the mortgage-backed security market in the United States. At First Boston, Fink was a member of the Management Committee, a Managing Director, and co-head of the Taxable Fixed Income Division; he also started the Financial Futures and Options Department, and headed the Mortgage and Real Estate Products Group.

Fink added as much as $1 billion to First Boston’s bottom line. He was successful at the bank until 1986, when his department lost $100 million due to his incorrect prediction about where interest rates were headed. Fink's longstanding relationships with senior government officials have led to questions about potential conflict of interest regarding government contracts awarded without competitive bidding.

By 2012, BlackRock had $3.5 trillion under management, with 10,000 professionals in 27 countries.

Community involvement
Fink serves on the board of trustees of New York University, where he holds various chairmanships including chair of the Financial Affairs Committee. He also co-chairs the NYU Langone Medical Center board of trustees and is a trustee of the Boys' Club of New York. and Vail, Colorado. The couple have three children. Joshua, the eldest son, is chief executive officer of Enso Capital, a hedge fund in which Fink owns a stake. Fink is a lifelong Democrat.