Facebook belongs to Meta Platforms. That company has multiple shareholders: people and organizations that own a part of Meta. Mark Zuckerberg is therefore not the sole owner. However, because he holds shares with additional voting rights, he has the deciding vote. It is therefore important to distinguish between who owns Facebook and who can make important decisions.
Below, you can read how this works and what to look out for when you see news about Facebook or Meta.
Who is the owner of Facebook?
The company behind Facebook is Meta Platforms. To understand who has power there, you also need to look at the shareholders and their votes. These three terms will help you do that:
| Term | What does it mean? | What does this mean for Facebook? |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | The company that Facebook belongs to. | Facebook is part of Meta Platforms. |
| Shareholders | People and organizations that own a part of the company. | Meta has multiple shareholders, including Zuckerberg. |
| Voting rights | The right to vote on important decisions. | Zuckerberg holds shares with additional votes. As a result, he has significant control. |
A shareholder owns a part of Meta, not a separate part of the Facebook app. Shares also do not allow you to change features or delete posts yourself.
Why is Facebook part of Meta?
In October 2021, the company announced the official announcement of Meta its new name. According to that announcement, the company structure did not change.
Facebook was therefore not sold to a new owner. The company got a different name, but the service continued to be called Facebook.
Think of it as a company changing its name while the name on one of its stores remains the same. This is how Facebook and Meta can exist alongside each other.
Curious about the beginning of Facebook? Then read when Facebook was founded . The explanation of when Facebook bought Instagram is about that separate acquisition.
Why does Zuckerberg have so much control over Facebook?
At Meta, not every share carries the same number of votes. Zuckerberg holds shares with additional voting rights. As a result, he has more influence than you would expect based only on his share of ownership.
Ownership and voting rights are therefore two different things. Ownership concerns how much of the company someone has. Voting rights determine how many votes someone can cast on important decisions.
A fictional example: two people each own half of the shares in a company. One person’s shares provide more votes than the other person’s. They own equal amounts, but they do not have an equal say.
You can read more about this in LegalClarity’s explanation of Facebook, shareholders and control . Do you want to know the exact percentages at this moment? Recent official company documents are needed for that.
Who are Meta’s other shareholders?
Besides Zuckerberg, other people and investment funds can also own shares in Meta. Meta is publicly traded, after all. This means you can buy and sell shares in the company on the stock market.
An investment fund collects money from multiple investors and uses it to buy, for example, shares. If a large fund appears on a list of shareholders, it often represents money from many different people.
The number of shares someone owns can change. Without a date, a list does not tell you who the largest shareholders are now. When looking at such a list, pay attention to three things:
- The date: When are the data from?
- The percentage: Does it refer to the part of the company someone owns, or to the share of the votes?
- The name: Is this one person or a fund that manages money for others?
Can someone else buy Facebook?
In theory, Meta can sell a business unit such as Facebook. But buying shares in Meta is not the same as taking over Facebook.
A sale requires, among other things, agreements and the necessary decisions within the company. Regulators may also need to give permission. For example, they check whether there is still enough competition after an acquisition.
Even with a very large number of ordinary shares, you do not automatically gain control of Meta. Shares with additional voting rights also count. Whether a particular acquisition is possible depends on the conditions and rules at that time.
What does Facebook’s owner mean for you?
As a user in the Netherlands or Belgium, this distinction mainly helps you understand the news. A report about Meta may concern the entire company. That does not automatically mean that anything changes about your Facebook profile.
Do you use Facebook for your own photos, videos or advertisements? When an announced change is coming, pay attention to three things:
- Does the change concern Facebook?
- Does it apply to your country?
- When does the change take effect?
The owner’s name alone says nothing about how many people will see your next post.
Do you want to know which company is responsible for your data or agreement? Check the company name in the terms that apply to your account. It does not have to be the same name as the company that owns Facebook.
Do you mean by your question that someone else has access to your account? Information about the owner will not help you recover your account. For that, read what you can do if your Facebook account has been hacked. If you also publish your own content, our Facebook services includes packages for followers and page likes. The product pages show the available quantities and prices.
