Owners of everything, even each other

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

We reported earlier that the same few asset managers - Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street - appear in the top shareholder lists of major companies comprising the mainstream media; Big Tech and social media, major COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers; other large pharmaceutical companies, and big tobacco companies; rival beverage manufacturers PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company; as well as large fossil fuel and green energy companies. We have decided to bring an early end to the series as the conclusion appears to be obvious. The same few organisations appear to own just about all the big companies that shape our lives. They control what we eat, our health, the news, our entertainment, our energy, etc. The final entry in this series is fittingly concerned with who owns these asset managers (and others). The short answer is: they do. They own themselves and each other.

3 of the top 4 shareholders of State Street are Vanguard, BlackRock, and, yes, State Street itself. Source. The top 3 shareholders of BlackRock are Vanguard, State Street, and, yes, BlackRock itself. Source. As stated by themselves, Vanguard is “owned by its member funds, which in turn are owned by fund shareholders”. Source. As reported by CNBC, “stock portfolios of the top 1% are now worth $23 trillion, and they own a record 53.9% of individually held shares”. Source. It would seem obvious then that the effective owners of Vanguard, and the other asset managers, and in turn all the big companies, would not really be the typical ‘person in the street’, but would be amongst the world’s richest people. Even if technically minority positions are held, note that the issue of surrendered voting rights can effectively ensure that a handful of people control the asset managers, and thus all the big companies that we rely on for, well, everything. Source.

Okay then.

Note: Some questions you might wish to ask. Should we be concerned that so few appear to control the large companies we many depend on for almost all of our material needs? Should we be concerned when they have their tentacles in science and government? Should we be concerned when their news outlets blatantly lie to us? Should we maybe react with a little bit more scepticism and cynicism when these profit-driven companies and individuals tell us that certain popular politicians are anti-democratic, that certain ways of life are outdated, and, yes, that certain medical treatments are ‘safe and effective’?