Also, how did Blackrock get so wealthy so fast? They've only been around since 1988.
There was a comparison between Amundi (France based) and BlackRock, and their voting patterns, and BlackRock was consistently voting against any ESG or in any way ecology related proposals. Anything that isn't directly about making more money is just not their thing. Contrast that with Amundi who overwhelmingly voted for ESG or similar measures.
So an oligopoly that presents the illusion of free market?
It is not their money. They have roughly $11.5 trillion of assets under management, but their market cap is only $161.5b (on net income of about $6b). Compare that to xAI, which has existed for less than two years and has a valuation around $50b.
xAI has yet to actually move the market needle, other than getting venture capitalists to sign away money they would have done otherwise.