March 12, 2024 (EIRNS)—On Feb. 26, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and eight states sued to block a $24.6 billion bid by The Kroger Co., the second largest supermarket retailer in the U.S. by revenue, to buy “rival” Albertsons Co., the fourth largest grocery retailer. The basis for the FTC suit is that the merger would reduce competition and increase food inflation, which is already skyrocketing. This, however, is nothing but a sick joke.
Looking at the top institutional shareholders of both companies, a similar phenomenon as with the military-financial complex, well documented by EIR News, immediately becomes evident. Three of the top four shareholders of Kroger are Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corp. Including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the number three shareholder, these four asset management companies own approximately 30% of Kroger. Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street own approximately 10% of Albertsons. The merger in effect would be a charade, given that the major shareholders of both companies, all tied to Wall Street and the City of London, overlap. (Interestingly, New York City- based Cerberus Capital Mgt. owns over 26% of Albertsons. Key people affiliated with Cerberus are Dan Quayle, former Vice President under George H.W. Bush, and John Snow, former Treasury Secretary under George W. Bush.)
BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street are the three largest asset management companies in the world and have their grubby paws all over U.S. retail grocery chains. Besides Kroger and Albertsons, they are major shareholders in Walmart, Costco, 7-Eleven and Target, all in the top 10 grocery retailers. They also are the top three shareholders of McDonald’s. So, given the Malthusian intentions of the Wall Street/City of London financial oligarchy, if they can’t kill you with a Lockheed Martin F-16 or a Northrop Grumman Bushmaster Chain Gun, they’ll simply poison you with a Big Mac.
