Costco Wholesale Corporation is a publicly traded company, meaning it is owned by its shareholders rather than a single individual or entity
. The majority ownership—over 70% of shares—is held by institutional investors such as mutual funds, pension funds, and investment firms
. The largest institutional shareholders as of 2024 include:
- The Vanguard Group (around 9.4%)
- BlackRock (around 6-7.5%)
- State Street Corporation (around 4%)
Among individual insiders and executives, Craig Jelinek, the President and CEO, is the largest individual shareholder, owning a small fraction of the company’s shares (about 0.08%)
. Other notable individual shareholders include Patrick Callans and Richard Galanti
. Costco was co-founded by James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman, but since it is publicly traded, ownership is widely distributed among institutional investors and public shareholders
. In summary, Costco is owned collectively by a broad base of institutional investors, individual shareholders, and company insiders, with no single owner controlling the company
