UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, Enel. Then Eni, Poste, Leonardo, the gas and electricity networks. They are all Italian companies with a “stars and stripes” percentage within them that is growing more and more. The person moving company shares and billions is BlackRock, the American financial giant, leader in global finance, with assets under management of over 15 trillion dollars. We have already told you who the American giant is, now we went to look for its influence in the Italian economy by scrolling through the lists of shareholders of large companies, listed and unlisted. Just check the latest communications to find out how much BlackRock’s presence in the strategic sectors of the Italian economy has increased.
Where are BlackRock’s billions: from banks to energy
In the last year, the presence in Italian companies and large groups has grown. Going into detail, the American fund has dedicated a substantial part of its Italian investments to the banking sector: thus, the shares held make BlackRock a key player in the risk currently underway. According to the reconstruction of Dossier The Vermilion based on Consob documents, at the moment UniCredit and Intesa are the two positions with the greatest value: at current market data they are worth 9.6 and 6.9 billion euros respectively. Enel follows with around 6 billion, and Eni with 3.8 billion. Prysmian and Generali are above two billion.
The latest communications sent to Consob update five shareholdings: Blackrock’s shareholding in UniCredit goes from 5.12% in the latest notification to 8.60%; similarly Blackrock rises in Intesa from 5% to 6.706%; in Enel from 5.02% to 6.46%; in Prysmian from 5.09% to 7.03%; in Snam from 5.10% to 6.03%. Saipem is also among the latest investments, with the equity component rising from 2.77% to 5.02%, while the aggregate reached 8.63% from the previous 5.16%. The equity component is worth approximately 457 million euros at the current market price.
But it is in FinecoBank that BlackRock holds the highest stake among listed companies: the updated Italian Stock Exchange sheet attributes 9.2% to the fund. There are then shares equal to 5.06% of Banco Bpm and 4.78% of Bperbanca while the May 2026 communication reported the fund’s presence in Generali at 3.13% equity and 5% aggregate.
When BlackRock meets the shareholder state
The American presence can be found in various companies in which the State is also an investor: Enel (6.46%) and Leonardo (4.49%) have the Ministry of Economy in the shareholding structure, Saipem is jointly controlled by Eni and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Eni and Poste see the presence of the Treasury and Cdp. In the energy networks sector, the public connection passes through Cdp Reti to Snam (6.03%), Terna (5.17%) and Italgas (4%).
The dimensions change from company to company. In Leonardo, the 2026 semi-annual report indicates 4.49% equity for BlackRock, against 5.07% aggregate. Terna distinguishes the 5.17% in shares from the 6.33% overall. In Eni the shareholding page reports 140.6 million shares, equal to 4.64%, based on the notification of June 22nd. In Monte dei Paschi, where the Mef has a minority stake – at 4.86% – BlackRock is at 4.66%, with an aggregate of 4.96%.
BlackRock is also within Poste Italiane – a publicly controlled group owned by Mef and Cdp – with 4.60% of the voting rights and 5.12% of the declared capital.
Off the stock exchange: Stellantis, CO2 capture with Eni and Italo trains
In the BlackRock portfolio we also find companies outside the perimeter of Piazza Affari. Through its Global infrastructure partners (Gip), the fund has completed its 49.99% stake in Eni Ccus Holding, a platform dedicated to the capture and storage of CO₂, with the right to acquire the 50% share held by Eni in the Ravenna Ccs project, another carbon dioxide capture and storage project.
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Through Gip Pegasus (Gip fund), BlackRock is among Italo’s shareholders with 39.18%. And beyond the Italian borders, the map of the billionaire properties of Larry Fink’s group extends to groups linked to the Italian industry, but with registered office in the Netherlands. At the beginning of October 2026, Stellantis notified the register of the Dutch authority AFM of a total presence of the American fund equal to 3.03% – between financial instruments and shares – while for Ferrari the BlackRock shares are worth a total of 3%. The documents relating to STMicroelectronics instead report 3.80% actual and 1.10% potential, for an aggregate of 4.90%.
Relations with the Meloni government
A dialogue seems to have developed between BlackRock and Giorgia Meloni’s government. The increase in the fund’s financial presence in strategic assets of the Italian economy could be a coincidence, but Larry Fink – at the helm of the company he co-founded in 1988 – was there at Palazzo Chigi.
It was September 30, 2024 and in an official note, the Prime Minister gave an account of the mini summit between Giorgia Meloni and the head of BlackRock: the meeting concerned possible investments in data centers, the energy infrastructure necessary to power them and in national transport. As an operational follow-up, the establishment of “a small working group, coordinated by Palazzo Chigi, dedicated to the implementation of the projects to be developed in collaboration” was agreed. Also on the table are financial instruments for Africa and the reconstruction of Ukraine.
A couple of months earlier, Fink attended the meeting on global infrastructure organized during the G7 in Borgo Egnazia, Puglia.
What BlackRock wants to do in Italy
On its website BlackRock declares over 80 billion euros invested in the Italian market. The program outlined in the 2026 letter to shareholders envisages $400 billion in gross raising in private markets by 2030 globally. Digital and energy infrastructures are among the opportunities indicated by the group’s top management. In May 2026, Giovanni Sandri, head of BlackRock in Italy and president of Assogestioni’s Digital and Fintech committee, explained that the development of artificial intelligence “opens structural opportunities in digital and energy infrastructure, but also in private markets and credit”.
BlackRock, who is the giant that is buying Italy
Considering only the reported investments, at current market prices BlackRock has assets of approximately 47 billion euros. To these must be added investments in Italian public debt: through its financial instruments, BlackRock holds approximately 2.4 billion euros in BTPs. While waiting for further communications, the American fund continues to grow.
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