{
  "contract": "grizzly-bulls-founder-voting-control-v1",
  "researchSlug": "founder-voting-control",
  "title": "Founder Voting Control at 10 Public Companies",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-10",
  "updatedAt": null,
  "dataAsOf": "2026-07-31",
  "version": "1.0",
  "methodologyVersion": "seo-authority-founder-voting-control-v1",
  "selection": {
    "cohortType": "selected-primary-source-founder-control-cohort",
    "companyRule": "Include public companies where a reviewed issuer filing reports an individual founder's percentage of total company voting power and the control mechanism can be described from primary-source evidence.",
    "founderRule": "For companies with more than one founder in the reviewed ownership table, retain the founder with the highest individually disclosed total-voting-power percentage.",
    "statisticallyRepresentative": false,
    "automaticExpansion": false
  },
  "scope": {
    "comparisonMetric": "total-company-voting-power-percent",
    "componentObservationDatesPreserved": true,
    "votingAgreementsPreserved": true,
    "variableVoteStructuresPreserved": true
  },
  "summary": {
    "observations": 10,
    "profiles": 10,
    "linkedBillionaireProfiles": 6,
    "companies": 10,
    "majorityVotingControlObservations": 4,
    "highestVotingPowerPercent": 82.4,
    "highestVotingPowerPerson": "Drew Houston",
    "lowestVotingPowerPercent": 27.4,
    "lowestVotingPowerPerson": "Larry Page",
    "medianVotingPowerPercent": 45.9
  },
  "observations": [
    {
      "person": "Drew Houston",
      "profilePath": "/billionaires/drew-houston",
      "founderRole": "Co-founder and CEO",
      "company": "Dropbox",
      "entityId": "dropbox",
      "stockTickers": [
        "DBX"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 82.4,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-03-31",
      "majorityVotingControl": true,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Dropbox Class B common stock carries 10 votes per share versus one vote for Class A; the proxy reports Houston with 82.40% of total voting power.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 10
        },
        {
          "name": "Class C Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 0
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dropbox-2026-proxy",
          "title": "Dropbox 2026 Proxy Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467623/000146762326000020/dbx-20260407.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-04-07",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Mark Zuckerberg",
      "profilePath": "/billionaires/mark-zuckerberg",
      "founderRole": "Founder, chairman and CEO",
      "company": "Meta Platforms",
      "entityId": "meta-platforms",
      "stockTickers": [
        "META"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 60.8,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-04-01",
      "majorityVotingControl": true,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Meta Class B common stock carries 10 votes per share versus one vote for Class A; the proxy reports Zuckerberg with 60.8% of total voting power.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 10
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "meta-2026-proxy",
          "title": "Meta Platforms 2026 Proxy Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000162828026025532/meta-20260416.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-04-16",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Tony Xu",
      "profilePath": "/billionaires/tony-xu",
      "founderRole": "Co-founder and CEO",
      "company": "DoorDash",
      "entityId": "doordash",
      "stockTickers": [
        "DASH"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 55.5,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-03-01",
      "majorityVotingControl": true,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class-plus-irrevocable-proxy",
      "mechanismSummary": "DoorDash Class B common stock carries 20 votes per share. Xu's 55.5% reported total also includes Class B shares subject to irrevocable voting proxies from co-founders Stanley Tang and Andy Fang; it is not a 55.5% beneficial-ownership percentage.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 20
        },
        {
          "name": "Class C Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 0
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "doordash-2026-proxy",
          "title": "DoorDash 2026 Proxy Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1792789/000179278926000018/dash-20260420.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-04-20",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        },
        {
          "id": "doordash-2026-q2",
          "title": "DoorDash Q2 2026 Form 10-Q",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1792789/000179278926000050/dash-20260630.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-08-06",
          "role": "mechanism-continuity"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Evan Spiegel",
      "profilePath": null,
      "founderRole": "Co-founder and CEO",
      "company": "Snap",
      "entityId": "snap",
      "stockTickers": [
        "SNAP"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 53.1,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2025-12-31",
      "majorityVotingControl": true,
      "controlMechanism": "nonvoting-public-class-plus-supervoting-founder-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Snap Class A is generally non-voting, Class B carries one vote per share and Class C carries 10. The 2025 year-end table reports Spiegel at 53.1% of total voting power; a July 2026 information statement confirms he can still exercise majority control but does not re-observe 53.1%.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 0
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class C Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 10
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "snap-2025-10k",
          "title": "Snap 2025 Form 10-K",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1564408/000156440826000013/snap-20251231.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-02-04",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        },
        {
          "id": "snap-2026-information-statement",
          "title": "Snap 2026 Annual Meeting Information Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1564408/000156440826000041/snap-20260709xexx991xnotic.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-07-09",
          "role": "mechanism-continuity"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Brian Armstrong",
      "profilePath": null,
      "founderRole": "Co-founder, chairman and CEO",
      "company": "Coinbase Global",
      "entityId": "coinbase",
      "stockTickers": [
        "COIN"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 49.6,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-03-31",
      "majorityVotingControl": false,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Coinbase Class B common stock carries 20 votes per share versus one vote for Class A; the proxy reports Armstrong with 49.6% of total voting power. Separately reported independent-trustee entities are not added to that individual row.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 20
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "coinbase-2026-proxy",
          "title": "Coinbase Global 2026 Proxy Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000167978826000045/coin-20260424.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-04-24",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Jack Dorsey",
      "profilePath": null,
      "founderRole": "Co-founder and Block Head",
      "company": "Block",
      "entityId": "block",
      "stockTickers": [
        "XYZ"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 42.2,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-03-31",
      "majorityVotingControl": false,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Block Class B common stock carries 10 votes per share versus one vote for Class A; the proxy reports Dorsey with 42.2% of total voting power.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 10
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "block-2026-proxy",
          "title": "Block 2026 Proxy Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828026027203/sq-20260423.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-04-23",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        },
        {
          "id": "block-2026-q2",
          "title": "Block Q2 2026 Form 10-Q",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000162828026053368/xyz-20260630.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-08-05",
          "role": "ticker-context"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Tobi Lütke",
      "profilePath": "/billionaires/tobi-lutke",
      "founderRole": "Co-founder, chair and CEO",
      "company": "Shopify",
      "entityId": "shopify",
      "stockTickers": [
        "SHOP"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 40.02,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-04-21",
      "majorityVotingControl": false,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class-plus-variable-founder-share",
      "mechanismSummary": "Shopify Class B restricted voting shares carry 10 votes per share, while the single Founder Share carries a variable vote count. The circular reports Lütke's aggregate voting power at 40.02%, including 1.78% attached to the Founder Share at the observation date.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Subordinate Voting Shares",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Restricted Voting Shares",
          "votesPerShare": 10
        },
        {
          "name": "Founder Share",
          "votesPerShare": null,
          "votingRule": "Variable vote count designed, subject to stated caps and conditions, to keep specified Lütke-affiliated voting power at least 40%."
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "shopify-2026-management-information-circular",
          "title": "Shopify 2026 Management Information Circular",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1594805/000159480526000022/yearend2025mic.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-05-08",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Eric Yuan",
      "profilePath": null,
      "founderRole": "Founder, president and CEO",
      "company": "Zoom Communications",
      "entityId": "zoom",
      "stockTickers": [
        "ZM"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 37.7,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-07-31",
      "majorityVotingControl": false,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Zoom Class B common stock carries 10 votes per share versus one vote for Class A; the July-quarter 10-Q reports Yuan and affiliates with approximately 37.7% of total voting power.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 10
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "zoom-2026-q2",
          "title": "Zoom Communications Q2 FY2027 Form 10-Q",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1585521/000158552126000121/zm-20260731.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-08-26",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Brian Chesky",
      "profilePath": "/billionaires/brian-chesky",
      "founderRole": "Co-founder, chair and CEO",
      "company": "Airbnb",
      "entityId": "airbnb",
      "stockTickers": [
        "ABNB"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 31.9,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-04-08",
      "majorityVotingControl": false,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Airbnb Class B common stock carries 20 votes per share versus one vote for Class A; the proxy reports Chesky with 31.9% of total voting power.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 20
        },
        {
          "name": "Class C Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 0
        },
        {
          "name": "Class H Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 0
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "airbnb-2026-proxy",
          "title": "Airbnb 2026 Proxy Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1559720/000119312526175062/d936646ddef14a.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-04-24",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "person": "Larry Page",
      "profilePath": "/billionaires/larry-page",
      "founderRole": "Co-founder and director",
      "company": "Alphabet",
      "entityId": "alphabet",
      "stockTickers": [
        "GOOG",
        "GOOGL"
      ],
      "totalVotingPowerPercent": 27.4,
      "votingPowerAsOfDate": "2026-04-06",
      "majorityVotingControl": false,
      "controlMechanism": "supervoting-class",
      "mechanismSummary": "Alphabet Class B common stock carries 10 votes per share versus one vote for Class A, while Class C is non-voting; the proxy reports Page with 27.4% of total voting power.",
      "votingClasses": [
        {
          "name": "Class A Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 1
        },
        {
          "name": "Class B Common Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 10
        },
        {
          "name": "Class C Capital Stock",
          "votesPerShare": 0
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "alphabet-2026-proxy",
          "title": "Alphabet 2026 Proxy Statement",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000130817926000342/goog-20260424.htm",
          "sourceDate": "2026-04-24",
          "role": "quantitative-observation"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "This is a selected primary-source cohort, not a statistically representative sample of public companies or founders.",
    "Observation dates differ by company. The study preserves each issuer's measurement date rather than pretending the cohort is synchronous.",
    "Voting power is not the same as economic ownership, market value, beneficial ownership percentage, or net worth.",
    "DoorDash's 55.5% figure includes shares subject to irrevocable voting proxies and must not be described as Xu beneficially owning 55.5% of the company.",
    "Shopify's Founder Share has a variable vote count, so its control mechanism cannot be reduced to one fixed votes-per-share multiplier.",
    "Snap's exact 53.1% observation is dated December 31, 2025. A July 2026 information statement supports continued majority-control semantics but does not re-observe the exact 53.1% figure."
  ]
}