Facebook shareholders: Who owns the most META stock?
We name the biggest Facebook shareholders and what their interest means for retail investors.
Key takeaway – ownership of Meta Platforms, Inc. is led by its founder, Mark Zuckerberg (around 13.6% of shares), followed by large institutional investors including Vanguard Group (approximately 8.9%) and BlackRock Inc. (around 7.7%).
Meta at a glance
Meta Platforms, Inc. is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. As of 22 September 2025, META was trading around $765.18 per share, giving the company a market capitalisation of $1.93 trillion (Nasdaq, 23 September 2025). Originally founded as Facebook in 2004, the company rebranded to Meta in October 2021 to reflect its investment in the metaverse.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Who owns Meta’s stock?
1. Individual insiders
Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Meta, is the largest individual shareholder, owning 342.52m shares, equivalent to 13.6% of Meta’s outstanding shares (Simply Wall St, 23 September 2025).
2. Institutional investors
Institutions hold around 67.7% of Meta’s shares, reflecting its position as a core holding in many funds. The top institutional holders, as of 23 September 2025, are:
| Investor | Shares Held | Stake (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Group | 192.6m | 8.9% |
| BlackRock Inc | 166.3m | 7.7% |
| Fidelity Investments | 135.9m | 6.2% |
| State Street Corporation | 86.9m | 4% |
| JPMorgan Chase | 54.7m | 2.5% |
(Yahoo Finance, 23 September 2025).
3. Total shares outstanding
Meta has approximately 2.5m shares outstanding, according to SEC disclosures (Yahoo Finance, 23 September 2025).
Why ownership matters
Large shareholders influence corporate governance through voting power and strategic engagement:
- Insiders, including Mark Zuckerberg and the executive team, align management’s interests with shareholders under board oversight and governance checks.
- Institutional investors such as Vanguard, BlackRock and Fidelity vote on behalf of their clients, though engagement varies between active and passive funds.
Meta’s dual-class structure gives Zuckerberg a significant portion of voting rights, reinforcing his control over the company’s direction despite institutions’ substantial economic stakes.
The bottom line
Understanding who holds the most META shares provides insight into governance dynamics:
- Mark Zuckerberg’s 13.6% economic ownership and about 58% of voting rights give him substantial influence over corporate strategy.
- Vanguard, BlackRock and Fidelity, while significant, collectively hold around 22.8% of shares, exceeding Zuckerberg’s economic stake.
Investment decisions should be based on Meta’s fundamentals, growth outlook and individual risk tolerance, rather than ownership metrics alone. Independent research is essential, and trading should only be undertaken with money you can afford to lose.
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