Who Owns Roblox: The Largest Shareholders Overview

Roblox Corporation (RBLX) is the company behind the Roblox gaming platform, where users can play games created by others. The company makes money mainly from selling virtual items on Roblox. Let’s look at who owns Roblox and who controls it.

Roblox’s largest shareholders are venture capital firm Altos Ventures, which owns a 13.0% share, followed by CEO and co-founder David Baszucki (8.8%), Morgan Stanley (5.9%), and Vanguard (5.1%). However, thanks to “super-voting” shares, David Baszucki controls 65.1% of all votes.

Roblox's Largest Shareholders (Dec 2022)
	Shareholder	Ownership	Voting Power
	Altos Ventures	13.0%	5.0%
	David Baszucki	8.8%	65.1%
	Morgan Stanley	5.9%	2.3%
	Vanguard	5.1%	2.0%
	Baillie Gifford	4.9%	1.9%
	Greg Baszucki	2.1%	0.8%
	Other	60.2%	23.0%
Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways
Source: Multiple SEC filings

In this article, I will dive more into who owns Roblox and who controls it. I will show you who Roblox’s largest shareholders are, how many shares and votes they have, and how much their stake is worth.

If you are interested, you can also explore who are the largest shareholders in other companies like Amazon, Meta (Facebook), Nike, Microsoft, or Tesla.

📃 Who Owns Roblox?

Roblox is owned by its shareholders. The largest ones are venture capital firm Altos Ventures which owns 13.0% of the company, followed by CEO and co-founder David Baszucki with 8.8% ownership, Morgan Stanley (5.9%), and Vanguard (5.1%). The CEO’s brother, Greg Baszucki, owns 2.1% of Roblox.

The largest owner of Roblox is the private equity firm Altos Ventures, which owns 13.0% of the company.

The second largest Roblox owner is Roblox’s co-founder, CEO, and chairman David Baszucki, who owns an 8.8% ownership stake.

• Despite owning “only” 8.8% of the company, David Baszucki controls Roblox thanks to super-voting shares he owns.
• David Baszucki owns only one share directly. He owns Roblox mostly through these trusts:
  • The Freedom Revocable Trust
  • 2020 David Baszucki Gift Trust
  • 2020 Jan Baszucki Gift Trust

A sizable owner is also Greg Baszucki, brother of Roblox CEO, who owns 2.1% of the company.

• Greg and his brother David were co-founders in their previous business venture Knowledge Revolution, which they exited. Unlike David, Greg does not own any super-voting shares in Roblox.
• Greg owns only a tiny amount of shares directly. Most of it is owned through the following trusts:
  • Greg and Christina Baszucki Living Trust
  • PENSCO Trust Co.
  • Morningstar Dynasty Trust
  • Crossbow Dynasty Trust

Roblox had another co-founder Eric Cassel. Unfortunately, you won’t find him or his family on the list of major shareholders. He died of cancer in 2013, far before the Roblox growth of the last few years.

Roblox was founded in 2004 by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel and has been a publicly listed company since its direct listing on NYSE in 2021 (Ticker: RBLX).

Roblox Corporation is incorporated in the State of Delaware (US), but its headquarters are in San Mateo, California (US).

Roblox achieved significant growth in revenue and time users, primarily minors, spend on its platform. But it still has to achieve profitability.

David Baszucki’s pay package was one of the most generous ones in the world in 2021, even though Roblox does not belong to the list of 500 companies.

That leaves us with the concern relevant to Roblox and many other “hot” companies going public in 2021. Will outside investors that got on board after the public listing benefit from the company’s success, or will the benefits mostly be reaped by insiders and original shareholders?

🎮 Who Controls Roblox (RBLX)?

Roblox is controlled by its co-founder and CEO, David Baszucki, who holds 65.1% of all votes. The shareholder with the second largest voting power is Altos Ventures, with a 5.0% share of all votes.

As you can see above, the size of voting power is not equal to ownership. The reason why David Baszucki has outsized voting power compared to his ownership stake is that Roblox Corporation has two classes of outstanding shares with different rights.

• Standard Class A shares traded under the RBLX ticker have one vote per share, and Class A shares are what all shareholders hold except for CEO David Baszucki, who mainly owns Class B shares.
• Roblox’s Class B shares, sometimes referred to as super-voting shares, are all in the hands of David Baszucki, and each one of them has a staggering 20 votes per share. This gives David Baszucki king-like power when it comes to Roblox. He holds 65% of the votes, is Roblox’s CEO, and is also its chairman. Roblox is a company controlled by one man, similar to Meta (Facebook) or Xiaomi.

However, the power David Baszucki has over Roblox is not for life. As is stated in Roblox’s certificate of incorporation, his outsized power over Roblox will end 15 years after the company went public, which will be in 2036.

• At the end of March 10, 2036, his Class B shares will convert to Class A shares and lose their super-voting power.
• This can also happen earlier if David decides to do so or if he dies or becomes unable to fulfill his obligations.

Roblox ‘s insiders that have influence over the company besides CEO David Baszucki are other board members and executives. However, because David has such dominant control, their power is limited.

• Roblox’s board has 6 members.
• Member of the board and sizable shareholder is also David’s brother Gregory Baszucki.
• The largest shareholder, Altos Ventures, holds one seat on the Roblox board.
• Several members of management and the board have ownership stakes over 0.05%. The largest owner, except the Baszuckis brothers, is CFO Michael Guthrie, who owns 0.3% of Roblox.

🗳️ Breakdown of Roblox’s Outstanding Shares and Votes by Top Shareholders

Roblox Corporation had a total of 605 million outstanding shares as of December 2022. The following table shows how many shares each Roblox’s large shareholder holds.

Roblox's Outstanding Shares by Shareholder
In millions of shares as of December 2022
	Shareholder	Class A	Class B	Total	% Share
	Altos Ventures	79	-	79	13.0%
	David Baszucki	2	51	53	8.8%
	Morgan Stanley	36	-	36	5.9%
	Vanguard	31	-	31	5.1%
	Baillie Gifford	29	-	29	4.9%
	Greg Baszucki	13	-	13	2.1%
	Other	364	-	364	60.2%
	Total (# millions)	553	51	605	100.0%
Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways
Source: Multiple SEC filings

There were 1,580 million votes distributed among shareholders of Roblox Corporation. The table below shows the total number of votes for each large shareholder.

Roblox's Vote Control by Shareholder
In millions of votes as of December 2022
	Shareholder	Class A	Class B	Total	% Share
	David Baszucki	2	1,027	1,028	65.1%
	Altos Ventures	79	-	79	5.0%
	Morgan Stanley	36	-	36	2.3%
	Vanguard	31	-	31	2.0%
	Baillie Gifford	29	-	29	1.9%
	Greg Baszucki	13	-	13	0.8%
	Other	364	-	364	23.0%
	Total (# millions)	553	1,027	1,580	100.0%
Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways
Source: Multiple SEC filings

Owning class B shares with 20 votes per share is the key to David Bsazucki’s control of Roblox. His voting power allows him to control the company single-handedly.

💵 Breakdown of Roblox’s Market Value by Shareholder

The following table summarizes how much is each shareholder’s stake in Roblox Corporation worth.

However, keep in mind that a stake in Roblox could be just one part of their portfolio, and their total worth could be bigger, thanks to other investments. It could also be lower if they have debts.

Roblox's Market Value by Shareholder
Market value in billions $ as of December 2022
	Shareholder	Class A	Class B	Total	% Share
	Altos Ventures	$2.2	-	$2.2	13.0%
	David Baszucki	$0.0	$1.5	$1.5	8.8%
	Morgan Stanley	$1.0	-	$1.0	5.9%
	Vanguard	$0.9	-	$0.9	5.1%
	Baillie Gifford	$0.8	-	$0.8	4.9%
	Greg Baszucki	$0.4	-	$0.4	2.1%
	Other	$10.4	-	$10.4	60.2%
	Total ($ billions)	$15.7	$1.5	$17.2	100.0%
Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways
Source: Multiple SEC filings

Let’s now look at each Roblox shareholder individually.

📒 Who Are Roblox’s Largest Shareholders?

Let’s now go through the list of the largest shareholders of Roblox Corporation one by one and look at who they are, how many shares they own, what is their voting power, and how much is their stake in Roblox worth.

#1 Altos Ventures (13.0%)

Altos Ventures is the largest shareholder of Roblox, owning 13.0% of its shares. However, because other shareholders hold super-voting shares, Altos Ventures’s voting power is only 5.0%. As of December 2022, the market value of Altos Ventures’s stake in Roblox was $2.2 billion.

Altos Ventures owned 79 million shares in Roblox and controlled 79 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.

Altos Ventures is a venture capital firm that has been an early investor in many technology companies. Roblox investment is one of the most high-profile ones.

Altos Ventures was founded in 1996 by Han Kim and Ho Nam.

#2 David Baszucki (8.8%)

David Baszucki is the second-largest shareholder of Roblox, owning 8.8% of its shares. However, David Baszucki controls 65.1% of all votes thanks to owning super-voting shares. As of December 2022, the market value of David Baszucki’s stake in Roblox was $1.5 billion.

David Baszucki owned 53 million shares in Roblox and controlled 1,028 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.

David Baszucki is a co-founder, CEO, and chairman of the board of Roblox Corporation, the company behind the popular Roblox gaming platform.

He co-founded Roblox with Eric Cassel in 2004, and the company went public in 2021.

Before Roblox, back in 1989, David co-founded, together with his brother Greg, another company called Knowledge Revolution, which they later sold.

#3 Morgan Stanley (5.9%)

Morgan Stanley is the third-largest shareholder of Roblox, owning 5.9% of its shares. However, because other shareholders hold super-voting shares, Morgan Stanley’s voting power is only 2.3%. As of December 2022, the market value of Morgan Stanley’s stake in Roblox was $1.0 billion.

Morgan Stanley owned 36 million shares in Roblox and controlled 36 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.

Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank that provides its clients with services when they need to raise capital or advise during mergers and acquisitions. Morgan Stanley also has wealth management and investment management divisions.

In 2020, Morgan Stanley acquired E*Trade, a popular electronic trading platform.

#4 Vanguard (5.1%)

Vanguard owns 5.1% of Roblox’s shares. However, because other shareholders hold super-voting shares, Vanguard’s voting power is only 2.0%. As of December 2022, the market value of Vanguard’s stake in Roblox was $0.9 billion.

Vanguard owned 31 million shares in Roblox and controlled 31 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.

Vanguard (The Vanguard Group) is one of the largest asset managers in the world. It manages other people’s money through its mutual funds and exchange-traded funds and also offers other related investing and financial planning services.

Vanguard differs from other large asset managers by having no actual “owner .” Officially Vanguard says that its investors own it since its funds own it, and Vanguard fund investors own those funds.

However, the actual decision power is in the hands of Vanguard’s insiders since the ownership is diluted over millions of investors worldwide.

Vanguard has significant influence over the largest public companies. Thanks to its size, Vanguard usually belongs to the largest shareholders in those companies and has considerable power at their shareholder meetings. This is especially true if ownership is diluted.

• Several terms were coined to describe this issue. Some call it asset manager capitalism, and popular is also the power of twelve. Financial Times even put together who exactly those twelve people might be.
• Evidence shows that big asset managers usually vote together with management.

#5 Baillie Gifford (4.9%)

Baillie Gifford owns 4.9% of Roblox’s shares. However, because other shareholders hold super-voting shares, Baillie Gifford’s voting power is only 1.9%. As of December 2022, the market value of Baillie Gifford’s stake in Roblox was $0.8 billion.

Baillie Gifford owned 29 million shares in Roblox and controlled 29 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.

Baillie Gifford is an investment management firm founded in 1908 in Scotland, where it still has its headquarters. It grew to become an important player, managing investments for institutional and individual investors around the world.

Baillie Gifford is privately owned by its partners.

⚰️ What If David Baszucki Dies? Who Will Be in Control of Roblox?

If David Baszucki dies, his stock will automatically, after nine months, convert to ordinary Class A shares with one vote per share.

It means Class B shares cannot be inherited, at least not for a time longer than nine months, without losing their extra voting powers.

Similar logic is applied to a situation when David becomes incapable of performing his material duties due to mental or physical illness. Then, after nine months, all Class B shares with 20 votes per share will convert to ordinary shares.

♾️ Will David Baszucki Stay in Control of Roblox for his Whole Lifetime?

Currently, David Baszucki holds 65% voting rights in Roblox. Does this mean that if he does not sell them, he can stay a controlling shareholder for his lifetime?

No, David Baszucki’s control of Roblox will last only until March 10, 2036. This is a date stated in Roblox’s certificate of incorporation, after which Class B shares with 20 votes a share will automatically convert to ordinary shares with one vote per share.

This can also happen sooner if David Baszucki sells all or a significant amount of his Class B shares, voluntarily converts his share to ordinary shares, or resigns from his role in the company.

📅 Roblox’s History Timeline

These are selected events from Roblox’s history:

• 2004: Roblox was founded by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel
• 2021: Roblox’s direct listing on NYSE

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Other Resources

• Roblox’s Annual Financials Statements (K-10)
• Roblox’s Proxy Statement
• Roblox’s Certificate of Incorporation

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