FACT CHECK: Does BlackRock Own 75 Percent Of Ancestry?

Anna MockMay 20, 2022

A post shared on Facebook claims investment management firm BlackRock owns 75 percent of genealogy company Ancestry.com.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence to support the claim. Representatives for both BlackRock and Ancestry.com denied the claim.

Fact Check:

Ancestry.com is a prominent genealogy website that is often used by individuals to research their family histories. The company is also “the world’s largest DNA service provider,” according to Reuters.

A Facebook post claims the investment management firm BlackRock owns 75 percent of the company. “Black Rock now own 75% of the Ancestry.c0m,” reads the post. “So they have a lot of DNA Just saying.”

There is no evidence to support this claim. Ancestry.com is actually owned by Blackstone, a management firm that acquired a 75 percent stake in the company following a $4.7 billion acquisition deal in 2020, according to The Seattle Times. BlackRock manages approximately $10 trillion, making it the world’s largest investment manager, whereas Blackstone Inc. is an “alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies,” according to its profile on Yahoo Finance.

“This claim is false,” a spokesperson for BlackRock said in an email to Check Your Fact. (RELATED: Does Elizabeth Warren Have Less Native American DNA Than The Typical White American?)

A spokesperson for Ancestry.com likewise denied the claim, telling Check Your Fact in an email that the company has “no relationship” with BlackRock. The spokesperson reiterated the company was majority-owned by Blackstone, not BlackRock.

This is not the first time that misinformation has spread online regarding genealogy. Check Your Fact previously debunked a viral 2018 claim that alleged Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren had “less Native American DNA than the average white American.”