Tesla CEO Elon Musk completed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, which made many people very rich, the most people. $1 billion in benefits.
Institutional investors, who own more than two-thirds of Twitter’s stock, got the biggest pie. Among them, the Pioneer Group is the largest shareholder of Twitter, holding 10.3% of the shares, and can get about 4.5 billion US dollars. BlackRock makes about $2.8 billion through its holdings of more than 52 million Twitter shares. Morgan Stanley got $3.6 billion and State Street nearly $2 billion.
In addition, many Twitter insiders and retail investors also received dividends. Insiders own more than 20% of Twitter, and retail investors own the remaining 10%. Of course, not everyone makes money. In April, Twitter’s stock price was well above what Musk paid. But there are plenty of opportunities to buy cheap.
Here’s how Twitter’s largest non-institutional shareholders are making profits, and their plans for what to do with that revenue:
- Jack Dorsey
After Musk closed the deal, the Twitter co-founder’s stock was worth about $1 billion. But instead of holding on to or selling it to put the proceeds into Block (formerly Square), Dorsey opted to transfer the entire stake back into Musk’s new private company and immediately became one of the largest shareholders.
Dorsey and Musk have always followed each other, and the former has repeatedly publicly backed Musk’s plans to buy Twitter, so the move isn’t entirely surprising, even though he’s starting his own social media startup, Bluesky.
- Omid Kordestani
Twitter’s latest regulatory filings show the former executive chairman of Twitter, who was a board member before the merger, owns 934,247 shares of Twitter, making him the third-largest individual shareholder. After Musk’s acquisition, Coldestani netted $50.6 million. He has yet to say what he plans to do with the income. - Parag Agrawal
The former Twitter CEO could get a $38.7 million severance package. However, Musk has said he does not intend to pay the money, citing Agrawal’s firing, which could spark a legal battle. Agrawal, however, owns 128,753 Twitter shares, which gives him nearly $7 million in income or which could be used to fund his legal claims. - Vijaya Gadde
The former general counsel at Twitter was responsible for making sure Musk closed the deal. But after the deal, he was escorted out of the Twitter office building. Gard could get a $32.8 million severance package, but she faces the same issues as Agrawal. Meanwhile, Guardian holds more than 605,000 Twitter shares. - Ned Segal
The Twitter CFO held less than 394,000 shares, which were worth $21.3 million when Musk’s deal closed. - Sarah Personette
Twitter’s chief customer officer, Pasonette, was not fired, but she left the company the day after the deal closed. According to reports, she had previously had a “great discussion” with Musk. As one of Twitter’s highest-ranking female executives, Pasonette has accumulated 143,213 Twitter shares over a four-year period, earning her $7.7 million. - David Rosenblatt
The former Twitter board member and current CEO of online marketplace 1stdibs.com owns 109,827 shares of Twitter. After Musk took over, his holdings were worth nearly $6 million.
