Netflix is arguably the most popular streaming service at the moment, yet many subscribers don’t know much about it, including who owns it. Does someone really own Netflix? Who founded the streamer, and when? Here’s what you need to know.
Who owns Netflix in 2023?
Netflix is a publicly-traded company, so its shareholders own it.
No one really “owns” a public company, as ownership is distributed among numerous individual and institutional investors. Among the latter, Vanguard Group Inc. has about 7.5% of the total outstanding shares, making it the largest institutional shareholder. Vanguard Group Inc. is one of the largest asset management companies in the world.
As for the individual investors, Reed Hastings is the largest one. Hastings is a pivotal figure in the company’s history since he’s Netflix’s co-founder, former CEO, and current executive chairman. The American entrepreneur owns about 1.7% of the stake, valued at over $2.4 billion.
Who made Netflix, and who are its founders?
Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in 1997.
Over the years, Hastings and Randolph have revolutionized the way people consume television and movies. Initially planned as a DVD rental-by-mail service, Netflix became more and more popular with time. In 2007, it became an online streaming platform, but it wasn’t until 2016 that the company created an authentic global audience thanks to its gradual expansion in over 190 countries. Currently, the company boasts almost 240 million paid subscribers worldwide (numbers from the second quarter of 2023).
As competitors like Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Max, and Prime Video emerged, the streaming landscape became more populated with time. Netflix and the other streamers are currently clashing in the so-called “streaming wars,” a race to add as many streaming subscribers as possible.
Currently, Netflix is owned by a mix of insiders, such as co-founder Reed Hastings and Chief Legal Officer David Hyman, as well as some of the biggest asset management companies in the world, such as BlackRock and the Vanguard Group.
Netflix is mainly owned by institutional investors, who own around 85% of shares held. The 10 largest shareholder of Netflix in December 2023 were: The Vanguard Group (8.42%) BlackRock (7.14%)
in full: Wilmot Reed Hastings, Jr. Reed Hastings (born October 8, 1960, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American entrepreneur who was cofounder (1997) of Netflix, a media-streaming and video-rental company. He served as its CEO (1998–2020) and co-CEO (2020–23) before becoming executive chairman (2023– ).
The ownership structure of Netflix (NFLX) stock is a mix of institutional, retail and individual investors. Approximately 48.52% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 5.28% is owned by Insiders and 46.20% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors.
Online streaming was initially popularised by RealNetworks and Microsoft in the 1990s and has since grown to become the globally most popular method for consuming music and video, with numerous competing subscription services being offered since the 2010s.
In 2007, Netflix heralded a new era with the introduction of streaming services that allowed subscribers to access content directly over the Internet. Streaming delivery quickly gained momentum, becoming unlimited for most subscription plans.
Netflix's position as the leader in the streaming service market is undeniable, with a remarkable total of 260.28 million subscribers worldwide. This number reflects a significant increase of 5.3% from the previous quarter and a near 13% growth year over year.
Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. (born October 8, 1960) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and executive chairman of Netflix, and currently sits on a number of boards and non-profit organizations.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, announced Wednesday morning that they have given $120 million toward scholarships at historically Black colleges and universities — the largest individual donation to the institutions to date.
After this donation, Hastings is worth an estimated $4.1 billion, per Forbes, much of which is tied up in his remaining ownership of just under 3 million Netflix shares through his family trust, worth roughly $1.7 billion.
In 2014, Sandler signed a four-picture deal with Netflix for $250 million. That deal was renewed in 2017 and again in 2020, and Sandler has made 10 movies for Netflix over the last decade. The deal has also benefited Netflix.
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