The story of who owns Wells Fargo (WFC -1.04%) reads like an American history lesson. It begins with the rise and fall of stagecoach transportation and continues to modern-day corporate mergers and scandals. From humble beginnings, Wells Fargo has grown into a diversified financial services company that manages $2 trillion in assets and ranks 33rd on Fortune's 100 list of America's largest corporations by revenue (as of late 2025).
Read on for the Wells Fargo ownership story. You'll also learn who WFC's largest shareholders are today, who's on the board of directors, and how to invest your cash in the company.
NYSE: WFC
Key Data Points
Who is the owner of Wells Fargo?
As a public company, Wells Fargo is collectively owned by its shareholders. Institutional investors own roughly 80% of WFC's outstanding shares, while insiders own about 0.09%.
The company was founded in 1852 when frontier-era entrepreneurs William Fargo and Henry Wells decided to provide courier and banking services to the West Coast during the California Gold Rush.
The business grew quickly through the expansion and consolidation of other stagecoach lines, but the stagecoach business would eventually fall to rail transportation. Wells Fargo evolved by rapidly opening new banking offices and using railroads to establish a transcontinental express line.
Wells Fargo has traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since 1962, 110 years after the company's founding.
Who is on the board of directors?
Public companies are governed by boards of directors. A board of directors for a public company is a group of shareholder-elected individuals who oversee and guide the company's strategic direction. The company's CEO typically reports to and serves on the board.
There are 13 directors on Wells Fargo's board as of late 2025, none of whom predate 2015, primarily because a 2016 scandal prompted Wells Fargo to overhaul its board and leadership team. The scandal was rooted in the bank's aggressive sales culture where employees opened unauthorized accounts in customers' names to meet their sales goals.
Wells Fargo has since faced intense scrutiny, fines, and ongoing sanctions from regulators.
Name | Position | Board Member Since |
|---|---|---|
Steven D. Black | Lead Independent Director, Wells Fargo & Company | 2020 |
Mark A. Chancy | Director | 2020 |
Celeste A. Clark | Director | 2018 |
Theodore F. Craver, Jr. | Director | 2018 |
Richard K. Davis | Director | 2022 |
Fabian T. Garcia | Director | 2024 |
Wayne M. Hewett | Director | 2019 |
CeCelia "CeCe" G. Morken | Director | 2022 |
Maria R. Morris | Director | 2018 |
Felicia F. Norwood | Director | 2022 |
Ronald L. Sargent | Director | 2017 |
Charlie Scharf | Chairman and CEO | 2019 |
Suzanne M. Vautrinot | Director | 2015 |
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How to invest in Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo trades on the NYSE under the ticker WFC. To invest directly in the company, place a buy order with your U.S.-based brokerage firm.
You can also invest in Wells Fargo indirectly through an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or mutual fund. WFC is a member of several market indexes. That means you can easily find the stock within lower-cost, passively managed funds. Funds that track the indexes below will include a Wells Fargo position.
- S&P 500: The S&P 500 includes 500 of the largest and most successful public companies in the U.S. Index constituents are diversified across all sectors.
- S&P 500 Financials: This is a sector index that tracks all financial companies in the S&P 500. You'd invest here if you're interested in owning a basket of bank stocks. You might also want to reference our guide to investing in banking stocks.
- Russell 1000: The Russell 1000 includes the top 1,000 public U.S. companies by market capitalization.
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