An undercover interview with one of the world’s largest investment firms purportedly reveals the influence the trillion-dollar company wields behind closed doors.

To the general public, BlackRock Inc. may be as opaque as the name suggests. However, an undercover investigator for journalist and activist James O’Keefe’s new media outlet recorded a BlackRock recruiter describing the essentials of what BlackRock does and how it sets about doing it.

In undercover footage captured by O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) over several interactions, a person identifying himself as a BlackRock recruiter named Serge Varlay divulged insight into the business philosophy that he said undergirds the world’s largest investment company.

As widely reported in the financial press, BlackRock has significant ownership stakes in dozens of companies that are household names. As covered previously by The Dallas Express, the firm also manages assets for Texas’ Permanent School Fund Corporation, despite a law prohibiting the state from contracting with companies that have divested from non-renewable energy producers.

“Let me tell you, it’s not who the president is. It’s who’s controlling the wallet of the president,” Varlay began in an initial clip. “The hedge funds, BlackRock, the banks. These guys run the world.”

Varlay then offered his take on how BlackRock operates: “They don’t want to be in the news. They don’t want people to talk about them. They don’t want to be anywhere on the radar.”

“All of these financial institutions, they buy politicians,” Varlay explained in another clip, noting “campaign financing” as the method of transaction.

“It doesn’t matter who wins,” Varlay summarized. “They’re in my pocket at this point.”

Varlay also gave his thoughts on the Ukraine-Russia war, explaining how, as he put it, “Ukraine is good for business.”

He clarified that Ukraine is a major grain producer, and if it cannot get its grain to the world market due to wartime hostilities, “the price of bread … literally everything goes up and down. This is fantastic if you’re trading. … War is real f***ing good for business.”

“We don’t want the conflict to end as a country,” Varlay continued. “The longer this goes on, the weaker Russia is.”

After the OMG sting video went viral, Varlay took down his LinkedIn account. Video taken of the page before its deletion apparently indicated that Varlay studied at Baruch College and worked in recruiting for Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, and Citadel Securities prior to joining BlackRock. Varlay had 18,000 followers on LinkedIn with over 500 connections.

During the recorded sessions, Varlay’s interlocutor commented, “You’re kind of a f***ing gatekeeper at BlackRock.”

Varlay responded, “Yeah, I am. I decide people’s fates … Every f***ing day, I literally decide how somebody’s life is going to be shaped.”

Varlay’s candid remarks were mostly captured without his knowledge. However, at one point in the footage, Varlay did pause to ask the journalist secretly recording him whether she is “an undercover reporter.” Varlay indicated that he suspected her because “normal people don’t give a s**t. This is beyond them.”

The Dallas Express reached out to BlackRock for comment on the videos and the comments contained in them but did not receive a response by the time of publication.