Four powerful U.S. investment concerns are among principal owners of the tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet, which is parent to Google and YouTube. All three tech firms have been cracking down on the speech of President Trump and his supporters as the election campaign heats up.
Evidently the finance firms are unconcerned about the potential for backlash and boycott from those among Trump's supporters whose money they manage.
The four financial firms are BlackRock Inc., headed by Laurence D. Fink; Morgan Stanley, headed by James P. Gorman; Vanguard Group Inc., headed by Mortimer J. Buckley; and T. Rowe Price, headed by William J. Stromberg. Price is closely aligned with Mellon Bank, headed by Todd Gibbons.
Laurence D. Fink, top, and James P. Gorman*
Vanguard, which is one of the world's largest investment management companies with about $6.2 trillion in global assets, holds the largest stake in Twitter. Vanguard's stake represents roughly 83 million shares valued at $2 billion. This constitutes about 10.6% of all outstanding Twitter shares, giving Vanguard de facto control of the social media platform.
Vanguard's shares in Facebook are even more extensive, at 184 million shares worth about $37.7 billion.
In addition, Vanguard retains about 22.6 million Class C shares of Alphabet.
The second-largest shareholder of Twitter is the global investment manager BlackRock Inc., with $6.8 trillion in assets. BlackRock holds 51.7 million shares of Twitter with a value of $1.3 billion. This stake accounts for roughly 6.6% of all outstanding shares.
BlackRock also holds 158.2 million Facebook shares, with a combined value of $32.3 billion. The firm also retains 20 million Class C shares of Alphabet.
T. Rowe Price, which is a well-known investment management firm with $1.2 trillion in assets, holds about 107.8 million shares of Facebook totaling a combined market value of $22.1 billion, along with 12.2 million Class C shares of Alphabet.
A company partly owned by Price, Boston-based State Street Corp., with $3.1 trillion in assets, holds about 35.7 million shares of Twitter stock, with a value of about $876 million. This accounts for 4.5% of all outstanding Twitter shares.
In the world of finance, 4.5% is not necessarily a minor wedge, since it can be enough for de facto control.
In addition, Morgan Stanley, headed by Gorman, holds the third-largest stake in Twitter. Morgan Stanley styles itself as a "wealth management company" for roughly $2 trillion in customer assets. Morgan Stanley's stake in Twitter amounts to roughly 48 million shares with a market value of $1.2 billion, representing 6.1% of outstanding shares.
BlackRock's Fink, with seven others, founded the firm in 1988. Under Fink's leadership, the firm has grown into a "global leader in investment and technology solutions to help investors build better financial futures." Today, BlackRock manages "more money than any other investment firm in the world." Fink has been named one of the "World's Greatest Leaders" by Fortune, and Barron’s has named him one of the "World's Best CEOs" for 14 consecutive years.
Conservative writer Frank Gaffney asserts that Fink has been arm-twisting the companies he has money in to conform to the agenda of the "Green New Deal," meaning that Trump is anathema to Fink. Morgan Stanley's Gorman has publicly voiced opposition to Trump.
Google searches disclose no trace of political outspokenness by Vanguard's Buckley or Mellon's Gibbons, while Price's Stromberg shows up as mildly to moderately supportive of Trump's tax and business policies.
Another major social media investor is FMR LLC, which is one of the nation's largest financial services firms, with assets worth some $2.5 trillion. FMR's funds hold about 123.6 million shares of Facebook with a combined market value of $26.1 billion. Boston-based FMR is owned by the Johnson family and top executives and former executives.
Also a social media player is ClearBridge Investments, which is a global investment manager with $149.4 billion in assets. ClearBridge is parent of the financial firm Salomon Brothers. ClearBridge, which is an arm of Baltimore-based Legg Mason, is led by CEO Terrence Murphy. ClearBridge owns about 25.5 million shares of the messaging platform, with a value of $626.1 million. This represents about 3.2% of all outstanding Twitter shares.
Investopedia is a source of financial information on this page.
*Original Wikipedia photo removed without notification to me; interesting that that photo caused concern as, according to previous Google stats, I am the only viewer of this blog. On Nov. 18, 2020, Google Stats claims there is no data to show for views of this post.
Evidently the finance firms are unconcerned about the potential for backlash and boycott from those among Trump's supporters whose money they manage.
The four financial firms are BlackRock Inc., headed by Laurence D. Fink; Morgan Stanley, headed by James P. Gorman; Vanguard Group Inc., headed by Mortimer J. Buckley; and T. Rowe Price, headed by William J. Stromberg. Price is closely aligned with Mellon Bank, headed by Todd Gibbons.
Laurence D. Fink, top, and James P. Gorman*
Vanguard, which is one of the world's largest investment management companies with about $6.2 trillion in global assets, holds the largest stake in Twitter. Vanguard's stake represents roughly 83 million shares valued at $2 billion. This constitutes about 10.6% of all outstanding Twitter shares, giving Vanguard de facto control of the social media platform.
Vanguard's shares in Facebook are even more extensive, at 184 million shares worth about $37.7 billion.
In addition, Vanguard retains about 22.6 million Class C shares of Alphabet.
The second-largest shareholder of Twitter is the global investment manager BlackRock Inc., with $6.8 trillion in assets. BlackRock holds 51.7 million shares of Twitter with a value of $1.3 billion. This stake accounts for roughly 6.6% of all outstanding shares.
BlackRock also holds 158.2 million Facebook shares, with a combined value of $32.3 billion. The firm also retains 20 million Class C shares of Alphabet.
T. Rowe Price, which is a well-known investment management firm with $1.2 trillion in assets, holds about 107.8 million shares of Facebook totaling a combined market value of $22.1 billion, along with 12.2 million Class C shares of Alphabet.
A company partly owned by Price, Boston-based State Street Corp., with $3.1 trillion in assets, holds about 35.7 million shares of Twitter stock, with a value of about $876 million. This accounts for 4.5% of all outstanding Twitter shares.
In the world of finance, 4.5% is not necessarily a minor wedge, since it can be enough for de facto control.
In addition, Morgan Stanley, headed by Gorman, holds the third-largest stake in Twitter. Morgan Stanley styles itself as a "wealth management company" for roughly $2 trillion in customer assets. Morgan Stanley's stake in Twitter amounts to roughly 48 million shares with a market value of $1.2 billion, representing 6.1% of outstanding shares.
BlackRock's Fink, with seven others, founded the firm in 1988. Under Fink's leadership, the firm has grown into a "global leader in investment and technology solutions to help investors build better financial futures." Today, BlackRock manages "more money than any other investment firm in the world." Fink has been named one of the "World's Greatest Leaders" by Fortune, and Barron’s has named him one of the "World's Best CEOs" for 14 consecutive years.
Conservative writer Frank Gaffney asserts that Fink has been arm-twisting the companies he has money in to conform to the agenda of the "Green New Deal," meaning that Trump is anathema to Fink. Morgan Stanley's Gorman has publicly voiced opposition to Trump.
Google searches disclose no trace of political outspokenness by Vanguard's Buckley or Mellon's Gibbons, while Price's Stromberg shows up as mildly to moderately supportive of Trump's tax and business policies.
Another major social media investor is FMR LLC, which is one of the nation's largest financial services firms, with assets worth some $2.5 trillion. FMR's funds hold about 123.6 million shares of Facebook with a combined market value of $26.1 billion. Boston-based FMR is owned by the Johnson family and top executives and former executives.
Also a social media player is ClearBridge Investments, which is a global investment manager with $149.4 billion in assets. ClearBridge is parent of the financial firm Salomon Brothers. ClearBridge, which is an arm of Baltimore-based Legg Mason, is led by CEO Terrence Murphy. ClearBridge owns about 25.5 million shares of the messaging platform, with a value of $626.1 million. This represents about 3.2% of all outstanding Twitter shares.
Investopedia is a source of financial information on this page.
*Original Wikipedia photo removed without notification to me; interesting that that photo caused concern as, according to previous Google stats, I am the only viewer of this blog. On Nov. 18, 2020, Google Stats claims there is no data to show for views of this post.
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