Knowing who owns YouTube is becoming increasingly important as the video-sharing platform continues to attract a massive number of eyeballs, especially compared to traditional media. It hosts an eclectic array of content, from educational tutorials to personal vlogs curated by influencers.
YouTube is known as the go-to video platform both for short- and long-term video content and is heavily influential on a global scale, from business to politics. Let's take a closer look.
Overview
Who owns YouTube?
YouTube is owned by Google, which acquired the platform in November 2006 for $1.65 billion. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet (GOOG 2.44%) (GOOGL 2.48%), a publicly traded company established in 2015 as the result of a major corporate restructuring to streamline and optimize Google's operations.
YouTube's origins are traced back to a trio of individuals who worked at PayPal (PYPL -0.82%): Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. Inspired by an unfruitful search for a video clip, the trio had a eureka moment that inspired them to construct the foundation of what would become YouTube.
Corporate structure
YouTube and Alphabet's corporate structure
When YouTube was originally acquired in 2006, Google itself was a publicly traded company under the same ticker Alphabet uses today for its Class A shares: GOOGL. As Google continued to expand and diversify its business away from just Google Search, it underwent a major corporate restructuring.
Alphabet became the publicly listed parent company that now owns Google and several other notable subsidiaries, including Deep Mind, Waymo, and Calico. Alphabet is publicly traded and has three classes of shares:
- Class A (GOOGL): Class A shares are publicly traded and come with voting rights.
- Class B: Class B shares are not publicly traded and are held by founders and insiders. They also have 10 times the voting power of Class A shares.
- Class C (GOOG): Class C shares are also publicly traded but do not have any voting rights.
Both Class A and Class C shares are publicly available and traded on stock exchanges, allowing investors to purchase them. However, because Class C shares lack voting rights, they might trade at a slight discount compared to Class A shares, though this price difference is generally quite small.
Shareholders
Largest shareholders of YouTube and Alphabet
In business, it's not so much about who owns the most as who controls the most. Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have structured things so that their combined Alphabet Class B stock holdings allow them to exert 51.4% voting control of the company.
This is a regular setup in tech companies where founders are eager for capital but reluctant to relinquish control. It's very common for both social media stocks and streaming service stocks. A breakdown of the major shareholders as of February 2025 can be found below:
Individual investors
- Larry Page owns 389,051,160 shares of Alphabet, which constitutes a 3.1% stake in the company. Page is one of the co-founders of Google and previously held the position of CEO.
- Sergey Brin holds 363,474,028 shares, representing a 2.9% stake in the company. Brin co-founded Google alongside Larry Page and served as the company's president.
- Eric Schmidt owns 60,994,606 shares, equivalent to a 0.5% stake. Schmidt was Google's CEO from 2001 to 2011 and later served as executive chairman until 2017.
- L. John Doerr owns 24,290,420 shares, amounting to a 0.2% stake. Doerr is a venture capitalist and an early Google investor.
- K. Ram Shriram owns 2,080,740 shares, which is a 0.02% stake. Shriram was a founding board member and an early Google investor.
Institutional investors
A major portion of Alphabet's Class A and Class C shares are held by major institutional investors like Vanguard, BlackRock (BLK 1.09%), and State Street (STT 1.31%). That's due to their extensive exchange-traded fund (ETF) and mutual fund offerings.
These firms manage funds that track major indexes, such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, which include Alphabet as a significant component due to its large market capitalization and influence in the technology sector.
- Vanguard Group owns 495.52 million Class A shares and 401.88 million Class C shares of Alphabet.
- BlackRock owns 430.81 million Class A shares and 357.82 million Class C shares.
- Fidelity owns 248.42 million Class A shares and 117.99 million Class C shares.
- State Street owns 226.01 million Class A shares and 187.43 million Class C shares.
- Geode Capital Management owns 131.94 million Class A shares and 104.78 million Class C shares. Primarily serving as a manager for Fidelity index funds, Geode's holdings in Alphabet represent a significant portion of its managed assets.
Board of directors
Who is on the board of directors for YouTube?
Page and Brin have significant voting power in Alphabet, the parent company of YouTube owner Google, and continue to serve on its board of directors despite stepping down from day-to-day management in 2019. Google's board of directors consists of the following individuals.
| Name | Role | Shareholder % | Board Tenure | Profile | Notable Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Page | Google co-founder, board member | 3.1% | Since Google's founding in 1998 | Co-founded Google, continues to serve on Alphabet's board since stepping down as its CEO in 2019 | Served as CEO of Google from 1998-2001 and 2011-2015 and as CEO of Alphabet from 2015-2019 |
| Sergey Brin | Google co-founder, board member | 2.9% | Since Google's founding in 1998 | Co-founded Google, continues to serve on Alphabet's board since stepping down as its president in 2019 | Served as Google's president of technology from 2001-2011 and president of Alphabet from 2015 to 2019 |
| Sundar Pichai | CEO of Alphabet and Google | 0.028% | Since December 2019 | Led key projects like Chrome and Android | Transitioned Google to Alphabet and is CEO of both Google and Alphabet |
| John L. Hennessy | Chairman of the board | Not specified | Since April 2004 | Renowned computer scientist | Former president of Stanford University |
| Frances Arnold | Board member | Not specified | Since December 2019 | Expert in directed evolution | Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2018) |
| R. Martin "Marty" Chavez | Board member | Not specified | Since July 2022 | Vice chairman and partner of Sixth Street Partners | Former chief information officer and CFO of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) |
| L. John Doerr | Board member | 2.507% | Since May 1999 | Early investor in Google | Partner at Kleiner Perkins |
| Roger W. Ferguson Jr. | Board member | Not specified | Since June 2016 | Expertise in economics and finance | Former vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve |
| K. Ram Shriram | Board member | 0.33% | Since Google's founding in1998 | Early investor and supporter of Google | Founder of Sherpalo Ventures |
| Robin L. Washington | Board member | Not specified | Since April 2020 | Financial expertise in biotech | Former CFO of Gilead Sciences |
How to invest
How to invest in YouTube
YouTube is owned by Google, which is a subsidiary of Alphabet, so the best way to invest money in YouTube is to invest in Alphabet. Here is how you can do that.
Step 1: Open a brokerage account
There are many different options for online stockbrokers. Choose which broker is right for you and follow the relevant instructions to open up an account and deposit money.
Step 2: Decide your budget
Make sure you are comfortable allocating money to invest in Alphabet and understand the downsides. You'll also need to decide whether to make a one-time or recurring investment.
Related investing topics
Step 3: Do your research
Understanding the macro context of the industry in which Alphabet operates, as well as its financial and shareholder statements, is key. Make sure you have an investment thesis for why you're investing in Alphabet.
Step 4: Place an order
Once you've opened your brokerage account, made your budget, and performed due diligence, it's time to place an order to buy Alphabet stock. Alternatively, you could buy an ETF with exposure to Alphabet. You'll need to indicate how many shares you want to buy and whether you're placing a market order or a limit order.
FAQ
Who owns YouTube FAQ
Who is the real owner of YouTube?
YouTube's real owner is Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet. Sergey Brin and Larry Page control over 50% of Alphabet's voting rights, so they wield the most power when it comes to YouTube's decisions.
How much did Jawed Karin sell YouTube for?
Jawed Karim, along with his co-founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, sold YouTube to Google in November 2006 for $1.65 billion worth of Google stock.
How much is YouTube worth?
As a subsidiary of Alphabet, YouTube doesn't have a standalone valuation that's released. That said, speculators estimate it is worth between $150 billion and $300 billion.
