Alphabet
At Alphabet, the two founders hold the vote between them: Larry Page 27.4% and Sergey Brin 25.3%, over half together. Class C shares, nearly half of all the stock, carry no vote at all.
Who controls the vote
Share of total voting power printed in the proxy (Vanguard from its footnote, "approximately"). Page and Brin are summed by us; the filing shows no voting agreement between them.
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Who holds which key
- Larry Page & Sergey Brin27.4% + 25.3% of the vote · neither alone
- Elect the board · together
- Remove a director · together
- Approve a merger or sale · together, with the board
- Amend the charter · together, with the board
- Decide shareholder votes · together
- The board10 nominees, 7 independent · independent chair
- Hire and fire the CEO
- Set executive pay
- Vanguard · BlackRockabout 3.5% + 2.5% of the vote
No key of their own.
- All other shareholdersabout 40% of the vote · Class C shares: none
No key of their own.
From the filing
| Class B votes per share | 10 | “Each share of Class B common stock is entitled to ten (10) votes with respect to each director nominee and ten (10) votes with respect to each of the proposals” |
|---|---|---|
| Class C votes per share | 0 | “Holders of Class C capital stock have no voting power” |
| Page / Brin voting power | 27.4% / 25.3% | “Larry Page — — 389,051,160 46.5 27.4 · Sergey Brin (2) 37,469 * 358,939,978 42.9 25.3” |
| Executive Committee | Page, Brin and the CEO | “'The Executive Committee currently comprises Larry (Chair), Sergey, and Sundar.'” |
| Sunset on the ten-vote shares | None | “The Class B common stock is convertible at any time by the holder into shares of Class A common stock on a share-for-share basis” |
| The board's reason | Stability | “'the stability provided by our capital structure, which insulates us from short-term pressures'” |