automotive
Who Owns Ford Motor Company? Class B Stock Gives the Family 40% of the Vote
In brief
Ford is public, but the Ford family still controls the decisive vote
Ford Motor Company is owned by public shareholders, but control is not spread like a normal one-share, one-vote company. The company has common stock held by ordinary and institutional investors, and Class B stock held mainly through a Ford family voting trust. Under Ford's share structure, Class B holders receive 40% of the general voting power as long as enough Class B shares remain outstanding, while common shareholders hold the other 60% sec.gov.
The short answer: Ford is a listed company, but the Ford family's Class B stock gives it a durable blocking position over major corporate decisions.
Who owns Ford Motor Company today?
Ford Motor Company is a Delaware corporation listed on the public market, so its economic ownership is shared among millions of common shareholders. The largest disclosed common-stock holders in Ford's 2025 proxy materials were Vanguard, State Street and BlackRock, each holding large index-fund-style positions in the common stock sec.gov. But the controlling feature is Ford's dual-class stock. The Ford family, through Class B stock held mainly in a voting trust, has 40% of the general voting power, while all common shareholders together have 60% sec.gov.
| Owner group | Economic ownership | Control position |
|---|---|---|
| Public common shareholders | Most of Ford's traded equity | Collectively 60% of general voting power |
| Ford family Class B holders | Small minority of total shares | 40% of general voting power if Class B thresholds are met |
| Ford Motor Company management | Executive and director holdings are disclosed separately | Runs operations under board oversight |
How the Ford family kept control after Ford went public
Ford's ownership story starts with Henry Ford's Michigan company, incorporated in 1903 to build automobiles designed and engineered by him. The present Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1919 and later acquired that Michigan business sec.gov. When Ford sold shares to the public in the 1950s, the family did not give up all voting influence. Instead, Ford kept a dual-class system: publicly traded common stock for outside investors, and Class B stock for qualified Ford-family-related holders.
That structure still shapes the company. Ordinary Ford investors buy common stock. Those shares participate economically in dividends and market value, but they do not remove the family's special voting position. Ford's annual filing says that, while at least 60,749,880 Class B shares remain outstanding, the Class B formula gives Class B holders 40% of general voting power sec.gov. If the Class B share count falls below that threshold, the voting percentage steps down, first to 30%, and then to one vote per share if it falls below a lower threshold sec.gov.
Ford is public in its capital, but still partly family-controlled in its voting architecture.
Ford's corporate structure and the Class B voting trust
The legal owner of the business is not a private Ford-family holding company. It is Ford Motor Company itself, a listed Delaware corporation with operating subsidiaries and finance operations. The company describes its main customer-centered businesses as Ford Blue, Ford Model e and Ford Pro, and it also provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company LLC sec.gov. Day-to-day control sits with management and the board. Voting control, however, is where the family structure matters.
Ford's 2025 proxy statement says 70,778,212 Class B shares, or 99.90% of outstanding Class B stock, were held in a voting trust. The trustees were Edsel B. Ford II, William Clay Ford, Jr., Benson Ford, Jr. and Alfred B. Ford. The proxy also states that the voting trust continues until terminated by holders of trust certificates representing more than 50% of the Class B shares held by the trust, and that trustees vote the shares as directed by a plurality sec.gov.
Legal owner
Company: Ford Motor Company, a Delaware corporation, owns and consolidates the operating business and reports to public shareholders through SEC filings.
Voting control
Family trust: Ford family Class B stock, held mainly in a voting trust, carries 40% of Ford's general voting power while the Class B threshold is maintained.
Ford voting power distribution under the dual-class structure
Ford money and control: who owns the shares, who gets the votes
Ford's largest common-stock holders are mostly asset managers acting for index funds, retirement accounts and other clients. In Ford's 2025 proxy statement, Vanguard was listed with 402,083,783 shares, or 10.3% of Ford common stock. State Street was listed with 329,385,396 shares, or 8.38%. BlackRock was listed with 282,647,800 shares, or 7.2% sec.gov. Those are large economic positions, but they are common-stock positions. They do not erase the separate 40% Class B voting block.
The money side is also large. Ford reported record 2024 revenue of about $185 billion in its 2025 proxy summary, up 5% year over year sec.gov. The company's 2024 Form 10-K reported net income attributable to Ford Motor Company of $5.879 billion and company adjusted EBIT of $10.208 billion proxyvote.com. Those profits belong economically to shareholders through retained earnings, dividends and share value, but voting influence is distributed differently from economic exposure.
| Holder or metric | Disclosed figure | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard | 402.1 million common shares; 10.3% | Largest disclosed common-stock holder in the 2025 proxy |
| State Street | 329.4 million common shares; 8.38% | Large institutional holder, including plan-related holdings |
| BlackRock | 282.6 million common shares; 7.2% | Major common-stock holder, but not a family-control holder |
| Class B voting trust | 70.8 million Class B shares; 99.90% of Class B | Core mechanism behind the Ford family's 40% voting block |
| 2024 revenue | About $185 billion | Shows the scale of the business controlled through this structure |
What Ford's ownership structure means for investors and the company
For ordinary investors, Ford's structure means economic ownership and voting influence are not the same thing. A common shareholder participates in the company's financial upside or downside, but the Ford family's Class B stock gives the family a voting position that is much larger than its economic ownership. That matters in director elections, governance proposals and any situation where a large voting block can influence the outcome.
The structure also gives Ford a form of continuity. William Clay Ford, Jr. is Executive Chair and Chair of the Board, and Ford's proxy identifies him as a long-serving director and executive officer sec.gov. Family control can support long-term planning in a cyclical, capital-heavy industry. The trade-off is governance accountability. Common shareholders can vote, but they are voting alongside a family block that already holds 40% of the general voting power.
That is why "who owns Ford?" has two correct answers. Economically, Ford is owned by public shareholders, with large institutional holders near the top of the common-stock register. In voting terms, the Ford family remains the decisive long-term control group because Class B stock has special rights. Operationally, Ford is run by its management team and board, not directly by every shareholder.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ford Motor Company privately owned?
No. Ford Motor Company is publicly traded, and its common stock is widely held. The unusual part is that Ford also has Class B stock, held mainly through a Ford family voting trust, which carries 40% of general voting power under the current threshold structure sec.gov.
Does the Ford family still own Ford?
The Ford family does not own all of Ford. Public shareholders own most of the traded economic equity. But the Ford family's Class B stock gives it 40% of the general voting power, which is why Ford is often described as a publicly traded company with family control sec.gov.
Who are Ford's largest public shareholders?
In the 2025 proxy statement, Ford listed Vanguard, State Street and BlackRock among the holders of more than 5% of Ford common stock. Vanguard was listed at 10.3%, State Street at 8.38%, and BlackRock at 7.2% of common stock sec.gov.
What is Ford Class B stock?
Ford Class B stock is the special voting class associated with qualified Ford-family-related holders. It is not the same as the ordinary common stock that public investors normally buy. Ford's filing says Class B holders get 40% of general voting power while at least 60,749,880 Class B shares remain outstanding sec.gov.
Who runs Ford day to day?
Ford is operated by its executive management team under board oversight. James D. Farley, Jr. has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since October 1, 2020, while William Clay Ford, Jr. is Executive Chair and Chair of the Board sec.gov.
Key takeaways
The bottom line
- Ford Motor Company is a public company, not a privately owned family business.
- The Ford family still has 40% of general voting power through Class B stock.
- Most Class B stock is held in a Ford family voting trust.
- Vanguard, State Street and BlackRock are major common-stock holders, but they do not control Ford alone.
- Ford's ownership is best understood as public economic ownership with family voting control.
Final word
Ford's ownership is a careful compromise between Wall Street capital and family continuity. Public investors own the traded company and supply most of its market capital, but the Ford family's Class B voting rights still give it a central role in governance. That dual structure is the answer behind the simple question of who owns Ford Motor Company.