Anthropic’s 7 co-founders reportedly own ~14% of the company, roughly 2% each. They’re seeking 50.1% of the voting power. This kind of control has precedent, but those founders generally came public owning much more of their companies. Page and Brin owned ~32% of Google at IPO, Zuckerberg ~28% of Facebook, and Spiegel and Murphy ~36% of Snap. They all still have majority voting control. (For context, a recent dataset of 79 dual-class VC-backed IPOs shows only 15% gave the CEO majority voting power, with a median voting power of 18%.) Then Anthropic adds another layer: Long-Term Benefit Trust, an "independent group" created to protect the company’s public-benefit mission, owns zero equity but can still elect a majority of the board. The Trust has roots in the Effective Altruism/AI safety world. Needless to say, controversial. So public investors may own ~86% of the economics while the founders control the shareholder vote and a "mission-driven trust" controls the board. Hard to believe this structure doesn’t cost Anthropic some multiple.