The story of who owns Wells Fargo (WFC -0.91%) 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.
Who owns Wells Fargo?
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.
Largest shareholders
Who are the largest shareholders?
Here are three of the top individual insider shareholders as of the most recent company proxy statement from April 2025.
- Charles Scharf is Wells Fargo's CEO and president. He is also on the WFC board of directors. He owns 919,234 shares.
- Jonathan Weiss was a senior executive vice president and the CEO of the bank's Corporate and Investment Banking group before stepping down in January 2025, ahead of his retirement in June. He owns 424,051 shares.
- Michael Santomassimo is Wells Fargo's chief financial officer (CFO) and senior vice president. He owns 351,866 shares.
Below are the top three institutional owners of Wells Fargo.
- Vanguard Group owns 321.7 million shares of WFC. The position amounts to 9.77% of the outstanding shares.
- BlackRock (BLK -0.83%) owns roughly 265.8 million Wells Fargo shares, accounting for 8.07% of the WFC ownership.
- Fidelity Management and Research Company holds around 196 million shares of Wells Fargo, for 5.95% of outstanding WFC stock.
Board of directors
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 |
Related investing topics
How to invest
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.
FAQ
Who owns Wells Fargo: FAQ
Who owns the majority of Wells Fargo?
Institutional investors own the majority of Wells Fargo. The bank has 3,178 institutional shareholders that collectively own about 80% of WFC outstanding shares. The largest of these institutional investors are Vanguard, BlackRock, and Fidelity.
Is Wells Fargo Bank U.S.-owned?
Yes, Wells Fargo Bank is U.S.-owned. Most of the company's largest shareholders are large U.S.-based institutional investors like Vanguard, Blackrock, Fidelity, State Street, and JPMorgan Chase.
Who is the original owner of Wells Fargo?
Wells Fargo was founded by William Fargo and Henry Wells in 1852. The company has gone through several mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and name changes in its history. Notable transactions include the Wells Fargo IPO in 1962 and the Norwest Corporation of Minneapolis merger with Wells Fargo in 1998.
Does BlackRock own Wells Fargo?
BlackRock owns 265.8 million shares, or 8.07%, of Wells Fargo as of late 2025. The asset manager is WFC's second-largest institutional shareholder after Vanguard.
