The biggest shareholders of Microsoft are major financial institutions like Vanguard, which holds a 9.6% stake, and BlackRock, owning 8.1% of the company’s shares. Among individual investors, former CEO Steve Ballmer stands out with a 4.4% stake, while co-founder Bill Gates owns under 1% of the company.
Microsoft, a global tech leader and the world’s second-most valuable company, has seen remarkable growth in its stock price, rising from under $50 in 2016 to over $540 in 2026. Under CEO Satya Nadella’s leadership, the company has achieved exceptional financial performance, increasing its annual net income from $16.57 billion in 2018 to $101.8 billion in 2025.
Key highlights:
- Vanguard and BlackRock are the largest institutional shareholders of Microsoft, collectively controlling nearly 18% of its outstanding shares.
- Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates remain the largest individual shareholders, owning 4.4% and just under 1% of Microsoft, respectively.
- Microsoft has experienced significant growth under Satya Nadella, with its annual net income increasing from $16.57 billion in 2018 to $101.8 billion in 2025.
As one of the most sought-after stocks on the market, Microsoft attracts significant attention from both institutional and individual investors. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Microsoft’s ownership, highlighting its top institutional and individual shareholders.
Who owns Microsoft? Examining the largest MSFT shareholders
The largest share of MSFT stocks is controlled by the largest international financial behemoths like Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. Another large part of Microsoft stock is controlled by various mutual funds, with Vanguard’s ETF offering accounting for the largest share. However, current and former Microsoft employees and executives, including Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, also hold a decent share of the Redmond software giant.
In total, there are 7.41 billion outstanding MSFT shares, with a combined market value of $3 trillion (at MSFT’s current price of $408).
In the following sections, we are going to examine Microsoft’s ownership structure and list the largest MSFT stockholders.
Top 10 institutional owners of Microsoft
The 10 largest institutions that own Microsoft stock control over 33% of all MSFT in circulation. In the table below, you can see the position of the ten largest holders of MSFT:
| Stockholder | Stake | Shares Owned | Total value |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Vanguard Group, Inc. | 9.6% | 719 million | $292 billion |
| BlackRock Inc. | 8.1% | 601 million | $245 billion |
| State Street Corporation | 4.1% | 306 million | $124 billion |
| FMR LLC (Fidelity Investments) | 2.7% | 200 million | $81 billion |
| Geode Capital Management LLC | 2.4% | 182 million | $74 billion |
| JPMorgan Investment Management | 1.99% | 147 million | $60 billion |
| T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | 1.69% | 125 million | $60 billion |
| Morgan Stanley | 1.63% | 121 million | $49 billion |
| Norges Bank Investment Management | 1.41% | 104 million | $42 billion |
| Capital International Investors | 1.10% | 81 million | $33 billion |
Data collected on March 6, 2026. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
Vanguard
Vanguard is one of the largest investment management companies in the world, with $9.3 trillion in assets under management (AUM). Founded in 1975, it has gained a reputation for its focus on low-cost index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Vanguard offers a wide range of investment products and services to individual and institutional investors.
- MSFT relative stake: 9.6%
- MSFT shares owned: 719 million
- Total value of MSFT owned: $292 billion
BlackRock (BLK)
BlackRock is a leading global investment management and financial services company, controlling a whopping $10 trillion in AUM as of 2023. Established in 1988, BlackRock’s primary focus is on managing assets for institutional clients such as pension funds, insurance companies, and governments, as well as individual investors.
- MSFT relative stake: 8.1%
- MSFT shares owned: 601 million
- Total value of MSFT owned: $245 billion
State Street Global Advisors
SSGA Funds Management, also known as State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), is one of the largest investment management firms globally and a subsidiary of State Street Corporation. As of December 2021, SSGA controlled more than $4.1 trillion in assets.
- MSFT relative stake: 4.1%
- MSFT shares owned: 306 million
- Total value of MSFT owned: $124 billion
Top 10 funds holding Microsoft
Due to its strong track record of impressive business results and stronghold over PC productivity software, Microsoft is one of the most popular stocks among exchange-traded funds. Interestingly, two of the largest MSFT stakes are controlled by Vanguard funds.
| Mutual Fund | Stake | Shares Owned | Total value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund | 3.1% | 233 million | $95 billion |
| Vanguard Institutional 500 Index | 2.5% | 187 million | $76 billion |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 1.3% | 96 million | $39 billion |
| Fidelity 500 Index Fund | 1.2% | 94 million | $38 billion |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 1.2% | 90 million | $36 billion |
| Vanguard Growth Index Fund | 1% | 77 million | $31 billion |
| Invesco QQQ Trust | 0.79% | 58 million | $24 billion |
| Vanguard Institutional Index Fund | 0.57% | 42 million | $17 billion |
| Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund | 0.44% | 33 million | $13 billion |
| The Growth Fund of America | 0.43% | 31.9 million | $13 billion |
Data collected on March 9, 2026. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
Vanguard Total Stock Market Market ETF (VTI)
The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF is designed to provide investors with broad exposure to the entire U.S. stock market. Investors who choose the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF can benefit from the potential long-term growth of the overall U.S. stock market. With 5.52% MSFT represents the second highest allocation in the fund, trailing only Apple with 6.67%. VTI also includes a number of so-called “dividend aristocrats”.
- MSFT relative stake: 3.1%
- MSFT shares owned: 233 million
- Total value of MSFT owned: $95 billion
Vanguard Institutional 500 Index Trust (VFFSX)
The Vanguard Institutional 500 Index is designed to track the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500), one of the most widely followed stock market indices in the United States that tracks the performance of the 500 largest US companies. MSFT is the second largest allocation VFFSX, squeezed behind Apple in the number one spot and Amazon at number three.
- MSFT relative stake: 2.5%
- MSFT shares owned: 187 million
- Total value of MSFT owned: $76 billion
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF is very similar to the Vanguard 500 Index Fund – both aim to track their benchmark index, the S&P 500, attempting to replicate the target index by investing all of its assets in the stocks that make up the index with the very similar weightings.
- MSFT relative stake: 1.3%
- MSFT shares owned: 96 million
- Total value of MSFT owned: $39 billion
Top insider stockholders of Microsoft
There are quite a few large holders among former and current Microsoft insiders. By far the biggest individual MSFT stockholders are Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who are also among the wealthiest individuals in the world.
Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and played a significant role in the company’s growth and success over the years. During his time as CEO from 2000 to 2014, Ballmer led Microsoft through a period of significant expansion and transformation. He played a key role in driving the company’s focus on software development and expanding its product portfolio, including the launch of Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 8 operating systems. He also oversaw the introduction of the Xbox gaming console and led the expansion of Microsoft’s enterprise software and cloud computing services.
Bill Gates
Bill Gates is a co-founder of Microsoft. Born in 1955, Gates played a pivotal role in the development of the personal computer revolution. He oversaw the development and launch of groundbreaking software products, including the Microsoft Windows operating system, Microsoft Office suite, and Internet Explorer web browser. Gates stepped down as Microsoft’s CEO in 2000 but remained actively involved as the company’s Chairman until 2014. He focused his efforts on philanthropy and co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 with his then-wife Melinda Gates.
Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella is an Indian-American business executive who is currently the CEO of Microsoft. Nadella joined Microsoft in 1992 and has held various leadership positions within the company. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as the Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise division, where he played a crucial role in the development and growth of Microsoft’s cloud computing services, including Microsoft Azure. Nadella was also instrumental in helping Microsoft expand its role in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, making it one of the best AI stocks to buy, especially for investors who want to increase their exposure to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Microsoft has only one class of outstanding shares, with one vote per share. This means that the voting power of each shareholder is equal to their ownership percentage.
However, this does not mean that these shareholders can control Microsoft’s decisions or influence its strategy. Microsoft’s board of directors is elected by the shareholders and is responsible for overseeing the management and direction of the company.
The board consists of 13 independent directors, who are not affiliated with any shareholder or employee of the company, and one executive director, who is Satya Nadella, the current CEO of Microsoft.
The bottom line: Microsoft is primarily owned by large financial corporations
Microsoft is primarily owned by large financial institutions like BlackRock and Vanguard. These companies are likely seeing the potential for MSFT’s long-term growth, which could be driven by the AI boom that Microsoft has been spearheading thanks to its strong involvement and direct investment in OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot.
For these reasons, Microsoft was included in our list of the best stocks to buy. If you want to see how the price of MSFT might move in the future, give our Microsoft stock prediction algorithm a try.
Source:: Who Owns Microsoft? Biggest MSFT Stockholders in 2026