Google — sorry, Alphabet — dominates the internet today in unprecedented fashion. Over 8.5 billion Google searches happen daily, proving online information runs through Mountain View.
Yet Alphabet stretches far beyond search to touch technology, healthcare, communications and beyond. All those driverless Waymo cars and internet balloons trace back to Larry Page and Sergey Brin tinkering away in their Stanford dorm more than 20 years ago.
Despite passing the CEO torch to Sundar Pichai in 2019, Page and Brin remain thoroughly entrenched in steering Google‘s parent company where they want it to go thanks to their special ownership stakes.
Let‘s unpack exactly how much of Alphabet the two founders still own — and control.
The dual-class structure propping up Page and Brin
Unlike most public companies, Alphabet utilizes a unique dual-class stock model separating economic ownership from voting control.
Here‘s the breakdown:
| Share Class | Description | Major Owners |
|---|---|---|
| Class A (GOOGL) | – Publicly traded – Accounts for majority of market cap – Each share = 1 vote | – Mostly external investors |
| Class B | – Non-publicly traded – These shares elect board members -Each share = 10 votes | – Page and Brin – Other insiders/directors |
| Class C (GOOG) | – Publicly traded – No voting rights attached | – Public investors seeking exposure sans control |
Bottom line: Class B‘s supervotes empower Page and Brin
By concentrating super-charged votes in Class B shares while ceding economic value to public Class A and C shares, Page and Brin shrewdly maintain control of Alphabet.
Despite less than 12% economic ownership through Class B and C shares combined, their Class B voting domination lets them wield:
✅ Majority board seat appointments
✅ Merger/acquisition approvals
✅ Sway over pivotal decisions
This framework has endured past executive shifts as we‘ll explore next…
Larry Page‘s commanding stake
Co-founder Larry Page personally controls 26.3% of Alphabet voting rights based on his Class B holdings.
For context, Page owns relatively tiny economic exposure with just 6.1% of total outstanding shares.
But sheer voting power is what matters most.
Sergey Brin not far behind
Fellow founder Sergey Brin maintains almost comparable sway with 24.9% of Alphabet votes afforded by his collection of Class B super-shares.
Like Page, Brin‘s economic ownership stands much lower at approximately 5.7% through regular Class B and C shares.
Together Page and Brin hold the reins
Collectively Page and Brin account for 51.2% of all Alphabet voting rights.
As majority stakeholders in voting, they effectively have the final say in:
- Director appointments
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Other pivotal moves for the ~$1.2 trillion market cap behemoth
So while passing daily leadership to Pichai, Page and Brin strategically kept Alphabet‘s compass pointing firming in their preferred direction for the long haul.
Other secondary voting blocs
While no others approach Page and Brin‘s majority control, other insider personalities hold marginal sway:
- Eric Schmidt – Ex-CEO boasts 4.2% of Alphabet voting power
- Sundar Pichai – Current CEO with 0.13% votes through compensation
- Various board directors – like John Hennessy with 0.18% voting stakes
Plus a few external institutional investors concentrating large Class A stakes have secondary influence:
- Vanguard – Owns 7.07% economic value (~3.3% voting)
- Blackrock – Claims 6.1% economic ownership (~2.8% voting)
But none dilute Page‘s and Brin‘s commanding 50%+ control.
Despite gradually transferring daily management control to new generations, savvy founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin cling tightly to Alphabet‘s steering wheel.
Via shrewd multi-tier share class structures skewing voting dominance to themselves, Page and Brin remain emperor and consigliere — not figureheads.
Together they dictate board composition, large M&A, and other weighty decisions to safeguard their long-term vision.
In short, 25 years deep into their brainchild born in Stanford dorms — Page and Brin still maneuver Alphabet where they want it to go thanks to their special majority voting stakes.
The Google guys remain in the driver‘s seat with founder-class shares that concentrate power far beyond their minority economic interests. Alphabet goes where Page and Brin point it as controlling majority shareholders.
So next time you Google something, bookmark a doc, or gaze skyward to connect with Loon internet — remember Larry and Sergey still rule the roost!
