BlackRock CEO Warns Data Center Construction Pause Could Trigger US Recession

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned that a nationwide pause in US data center construction could trigger a recession, according to Data Center Dynamics. Speaking to CNBC, Fink said the economy has become heavily exposed to the large investments made in AI infrastructure in recent years, and called much of the opposition to data centers "misinformation." BlackRock is itself a major data center investor; its Global Infrastructure Partners agreed to buy Aligned Data Centers last year.

Real estate services firm JLL estimates that planned data center capacity through 2030 will require $3 trillion in total investment. It reports global occupancy of 97 percent, while tenants have committed in advance to 77 percent of capacity under construction. US demand is five times higher than two years ago, and vacancy rates have remained at 1 percent for three consecutive years.

Local opposition has led officials across the US to consider or impose construction moratoriums. Projects also face delays from power costs, grid upgrades, and shortages of equipment, materials, and labor.