The Investing for Beginners Podcast - Your Path to Financial Freedom

Share Classes Explained: Class A vs. Class B & Voting Rights

Feb 16, 2026

They unpack share classes and why voting power can differ from economic ownership. Founders’ tricks for keeping control are explained through examples like Google, Meta, Berkshire Hathaway, and Tesla. The conversation flags governance warning signs, decodes voting vs financial rights, and outlines how activist investors try to force change.

45:46

forum

Ask episode

web_stories

AI Snips

view_agenda

Chapters

menu_book

Books

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

insights

INSIGHT

Why Founders Use Dual-Class Shares

Founders create multiple share classes mainly to retain control as the company grows.
Dual-class structures let founders steer long-term vision without being ousted by public shareholders.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Berkshire’s Two-Class Decision

Berkshire Hathaway never split Class A shares and they trade very high today.
Warren Buffett issued Class B shares in 1996 to make ownership accessible and limit financial product repackaging.

insights

INSIGHT

Voting Power Drives Major Corporate Decisions

Voting controls strategic items like M&A, buybacks, and executive pay.
Watch for CEOs on compensation committees as a major red flag for conflicted governance.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

What are Share Classes

04:02 • 1min

chevron_right

Ownership Spectrum and Voting Power

05:24 • 6min

chevron_right

Why Founders Use Multiple Share Classes

11:14 • 8min

chevron_right

Berkshire Hathaway A vs B Explained

19:02 • 3min

chevron_right

Corporate Voting: What It Controls

21:40 • 2min

chevron_right

Red Flags in Board Structure

23:57 • 2min

chevron_right

Google’s Three-Class Structure

25:43 • 2min

chevron_right

Tesla Share Structure & Elon’s Compensation

27:51 • 9min

chevron_right

Assessing Ownership When Researching Stocks

36:40 • 4min

chevron_right

What Activist Investors Do

40:25 • 4min

chevron_right

Practical Checklist for Investors

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

Seven Steps to Understanding the Stock Market

Andrew Sather

Want to get our best investing ideas each month? Join the Value Spotlight newsletter here: ⁠https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/⁠

Most investors buy a stock and assume they own a piece of the company. But do they actually have a say in how it’s run?

In this episode, Dave and Andrew break down the often-overlooked world of Share Classes (Class A vs. Class B) and what they mean for your rights as a shareholder.

Inspired by a listener question, the guys explain why companies like Berkshire Hathaway, Google, and Meta split their shares, how founders maintain total control even with minority ownership, and what "Activist Investors" like Bill Ackman actually do to force change.

We discuss:

Economic Rights vs. Voting Rights: Who is actually driving the bus?
The "Founder Control" Model: How Mark Zuckerberg controls Meta despite owning less than 100% of the company.
Berkshire Hathaway: Why Warren Buffett created a stock that costs $715,000 per share.
Google's Tickers: The difference between GOOG (no vote) and GOOGL (voting).
Red Flags: How to spot a "captured board" in the Proxy Statement.
Activist Investors: How funds buy their way onto a board to fire the CEO.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Does your vote count?

01:18 – What are Share Classes?

03:40 – The "Bus Driver" Analogy: Voting vs. Economic Rights

08:53 – Why Founders Want Control

13:18 – Berkshire Hathaway: Class A vs. Class B Explained

17:12 – The Huge Red Flag: CEO Compensation Committees

20:03 – Google’s 3 Tickers (GOOG vs. GOOGL)

22:04 – Elon Musk & Tesla’s Share Structure

31:15 – What is an "Activist Investor"?

36:02 – The Investor’s Checklist: How to read a Proxy Statement

Resources Mentioned

The Value Spotlight Newsletter: ⁠https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter⁠/

Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at ⁠newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com⁠ or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!

Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.

Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today’s show is sponsored by:

Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SHOPIFY.COM/beginners⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to start selling with Shopify today.⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.shopify.com/beginners⁠⁠⁠⁠

Download the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Plynk app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ today to start building your investing confidence:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFB⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠auraframes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use promo code BEGINNERS at checkout to get $35 off⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://auraframes.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get your free quote and see how much you could save at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SelectQuote.com/beginners⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠equity@einvestingforbeginners.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Home Top podcasts Popular guests Top books