Who Owns PayPal: Understanding the Company's Board and History

PayPal's history dates back to 1998 when it was founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin.

The company's early days were marked by its humble beginnings as Confinity, a company that focused on hardware and software security.

In 2000, Confinity merged with X.com, a company founded by Elon Musk, and the merged entity was renamed X.com.

PayPal's first major breakthrough came in 2002 when it was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion.

A unique perspective: Who Founded Pay Pal

PayPal is owned by its shareholders, with the largest ones being asset management giants Vanguard and BlackRock. They own 8.4% and 6.7% of the company, respectively.

Vanguard owns 96 million shares of PayPal, which is worth $5.6 billion. BlackRock owns 72.5 million shares, worth $4.5 billion. These two companies are among the largest asset managers in the world, and it's common to see them among top shareholders in large public companies.

PayPal's ownership is quite dispersed, with no other shareholder crossing the 5% ownership threshold. This means that no single individual or entity has a dominant stake in the company.

Broaden your view: Outstanding Common Stock Refers to the Total Number of Shares

Here are the largest institutional investors in PayPal:

PayPal's largest shareholders are not the same as its founders. Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who were among the largest shareholders after PayPal's initial IPO in 2002, have since sold their stakes.

PayPal's largest shareholders are primarily asset management giants, including Vanguard and BlackRock. Vanguard owns 8.4% of PayPal, while BlackRock owns 6.7%. These two companies have significant influence over PayPal's operations.

Vanguard's stake in PayPal is worth around $6.8 billion, while BlackRock's stake is valued at approximately $5.4 billion. Both companies have a large number of shares in PayPal, with Vanguard owning 96 million shares and BlackRock owning 76 million shares.

Here's a list of PayPal's largest shareholders, including their ownership percentage and the value of their stake:

PayPal's ownership is quite dispersed, with no single shareholder holding a dominant stake in the company. This is due in part to the fact that PayPal's largest shareholders are asset managers who invest money on behalf of their clients.

As of December 2022, the market value of PayPal's largest shareholders can be broken down into three main categories: Vanguard, BlackRock, and Other. Vanguard holds an 8.4% stake in PayPal, valued at $6.8 billion, while BlackRock owns 6.7% of the company, worth $5.4 billion.

Vanguard is the largest shareholder of PayPal, owning 96 million shares and controlling 96 million shareholder votes. BlackRock, on the other hand, owns 76 million shares and has 76 million shareholder votes.

The remaining 84.9% of PayPal's market value is held by Other shareholders, with a total value of $68.7 billion. This category includes a wide range of investors, from individual shareholders to institutional investors.

Here's a breakdown of the market value by shareholder:

Note that the market value of these shareholders may have changed since December 2022, but this gives you an idea of the distribution of ownership at that time.

PayPal's Board of Directors is made up of 12 highly experienced individuals. Each member brings a unique set of skills and expertise to the table.

Rodney C. Adkins, a former IBM leader, serves as a director on PayPal's board. Alex Chriss, PayPal's president and CEO, has a strong background in leadership, having previously held executive positions at Intuit and Houzz.

Jonathan Christodoro, a seasoned investment banker, has been on PayPal's board since 2015 and is currently a partner at Patriot Global Management. John J. Donahoe, chairman of PayPal's board since 2015, is also president, CEO, and director at Nike.

David W. Dorman, a former chairman and CEO of SBC Communications, has been on PayPal's board since 2015. He is also non-executive board chair of CVS and a founding partner of Centerview Capital Technology Fund.

Here is a list of the PayPal Board of Directors:

Belinda Johnson, a former Airbnb executive, joined PayPal's board in 2017. Enrique Lores, president, CEO, and director for HP, has been with the company for three decades.

Gail J. McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, has been on PayPal's board since 2015. She currently chairs the corporate governance and nominating committee.

PayPal's History Timeline is a fascinating story that spans over two decades. PayPal was founded in 1998 by Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek as Confinity.

In 1999, Elon Musk founded X.com, a financial services website that aimed to provide easy digital payments for internet transactions. Confinity and X.com merged in 2000, initially called X.com.

The company was renamed from X.com to PayPal in 2001, and later went public in 2002, rising 50% on its first trading day. eBay acquired PayPal shortly after for $1.4 billion, and PayPal became its primary payment processing partner.

Here's a brief timeline of PayPal's history:

PayPal is currently not owned by eBay, as it was spun off in 2015 after investor pressure led by Carl Icahn. This separation was complete when eBay dropped PayPal as its primary payment processing partner in 2018.

A unique perspective: Ebay Stock Quote

PayPal was founded in 1998 as Confinity, and later merged with X.com to become PayPal. This merger was a game-changer for the company, as it brought together two innovative technologies that would eventually dominate the email payments market.

The merger was a 50-50 equal partnership, a compromise reached by key players on both sides, including Bill Harris, the then-CEO of X.com. He was instrumental in making the deal happen, even if it meant jeopardizing his relationship with Elon Musk.

In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion, and was later spun off in 2015, making it an independent entity once again. Today, PayPal is a publicly traded company with top institutional investors like The Vanguard Group and BlackRock owning significant portions of its stocks.

Here are some key highlights about PayPal's ownership: