Who Owns Meta?

Meta is controlled by Mark Zuckerberg. Meta Platforms, Inc. is listed on NASDAQ, but its dual-class shares give Zuckerberg roughly 61% of the voting power on about 13% of the economics — he holds 99.7% of the Class B stock, which carries ten votes per share. He cannot be outvoted by the other shareholders combined. In the UK, Meta Platforms Technologies UK Ltd’s registered controller is the US parent. Ownership verified 5 September 2026.

Who owns Meta today?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Delaware registration 3835815) is the parent of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. It is a public company with no parent above it.

The UK entity is Meta Platforms Technologies UK Ltd (13792358), incorporated 9 December 2021, whose person with significant control is recorded as Meta Platforms, Inc. holding 75% or more of shares and voting rights. Several older UK companies in the group have been dissolved — Meta Platforms Ltd (09396743) in December 2022, Meta Platforms Ireland (SC719039) in June 2023 — so a Companies House search returns a mix of live and dead entities.

Ultimate parent and corporate structure

Meta Platforms, Inc. is the ultimate parent. The company renamed itself from Facebook, Inc. in October 2021, which is a rebrand rather than a change of ownership: same company, same registration number, same controller.

That distinction matters when reading older sources. A 2020 filing naming Facebook, Inc. and a 2026 filing naming Meta Platforms, Inc. refer to the same legal entity.

Major shareholders or controlling persons

Meta’s Class A shares carry one vote; Class B shares carry ten. Zuckerberg holds around 342.6 million Class B shares — about 99.7% of that class — against roughly 141,000 Class A shares.

The result is a company where economics and control come apart almost completely:

• ~13% of the company by economic value
• ~61% of the voting power

Meta has run this structure since its 2012 IPO. In practice it means no shareholder resolution passes against Zuckerberg’s wishes and no board can be elected without him, whatever the institutions holding the other 87% prefer. Shareholder proposals to collapse the dual-class structure are filed regularly and are voted down by the votes they are trying to remove.

Vanguard, BlackRock and other index managers hold substantial Class A positions. On the economics they are large holders; on control they cannot prevail.

Official records and evidence

Companies House is authoritative for the UK entity: company 13792358 records Meta Platforms, Inc. as controller.

For Meta itself the UK register is silent. The authoritative sources are SEC filings — the annual proxy statement for the class-by-class beneficial ownership, and Schedule 13G filings for institutions above 5%. The figures above are from those disclosures and move as shares are sold, converted or granted.

Ownership history and changes

Facebook was founded in 2004 and floated in May 2012 with dual-class shares already in place. It acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, renamed itself Meta Platforms in October 2021, and has since sold down some of Zuckerberg’s economic stake through share sales and philanthropic transfers — without touching his voting control, because Class B conversion is what would end that and selling Class A is not.

Related companies and brands

Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads and Reality Labs, which includes Oculus. Instagram and WhatsApp were independent companies before acquisition and still operate under their own names, which is why they are commonly assumed to be separate businesses.

They are not. All are subsidiaries of the same parent, and therefore all sit under the same voting control described above.