Top General Motors (GM) Shareholders

General Motors Company (GM) was incorporated in 1908. The Detroit-based automotive company has weathered its fair share of boom-and-bust economic cycles. The company designs, manufactures, markets, and globally distributes new cars, trucks, and vehicle parts. GM also offers consumers automotive financial services. 

General Motors was reincorporated in 1916 during a stock buyback campaign that led founder William C. Durant to rejoin the company after having been forced to leave in 1910. His ouster was the result of the massive debt he incurred through the acquisition of other car companies. Durant added Chevrolet to the GM fold in 1916 and continued to acquire other automobile manufacturers over the years.

The decades after World War II saw GM dominate as a car manufacturer, growing its market share and revenue while simultaneously becoming one of the world's largest employers. The company's fortunes declined, however, beginning in the 1980s and through the 1990s. GM lost significant market share to foreign car companies, most notably Honda and Toyota.

General Motors filed for bankruptcy in 2009 amid the financial crisis and became largely owned by the U.S. government. It was delisted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and old GM shares were retired when this happened. General Motors relaunched with an initial public offering (IPO) of new GM stocks in 2010.

Top 3 Individual Insider Shareholders

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission defines an "insider" as an individual who has access to information about the company that's not publicly available. This may be due to their relationship with the company or with someone who is an officer or director of the company.

The numbers cited here don't include indirect ownership of shares or shares that are accessible through stock options.

Mary Barra

Mary Barra was appointed as General Motors' chief executive officer (CEO) in January 2014 when former CEO Daniel Akerson departed from the company. Barra is General Motors' first female CEO. She was also elected chair of the company’s board in January 2016.

Barra was seen as a perfect fit to take the company forward and to advise the company’s board due to her extensive experience in engineering and global product development, one of General Motors' most critical business areas. Barra has won several industry recognition awards and was named to Forbes' list of the world's 100 most powerful women in 2021.

She was the company's largest individual shareholder as of April 2023 with 4,168,112 shares of General Motors, according to GM's 2023 proxy statement and annual meeting of shareholders notice.

Mark Reuss

Mark L. Reuss is president of General Motors, leading regional operations in North America, South America, China, and General Motors International. Reuss has had a long career with GM, joining the company as an intern in 1983. He served as GM's executive vice president for Global Product Development, Purchasing, and Supply Chain from 2013 to 2018 before becoming GM president in 2019.

Reuss is the second-largest individual shareholder of General Motors. He owned 972,075 shares of the company as of April 2023.

Douglas L. Parks

Doug Parks has served General Motors as executive vice president of Global Product Development and Supply Chain since October 2019. He was vice president of GM's Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs from 2016 through 2019. He's been with General Motors since 1984. He spent three of those years in Germany acting as global vehicle chief engineer for the company's compact vehicles.

Parks was GM's third-largest individual shareholder as of April 2023, owning 375,012 shares.

Top 3 Institutional Shareholders

Barron's noted in 2021 that GM was a "Wall Street favorite" and the company has drawn its share of big-name institutional shareholders over the years. BlackRock, Inc., The Vanguard Group, and Capital Research Global Investors topped the list as of April 2023.

BlackRock, Inc.

BlackRock is a U.S. investment, advisory, and risk management provider based in New York. It generated more than $1.8 trillion of net inflows over a five-year period that ended in March 2023. It focuses on investing clients' money in local communities because "contributing to the growth of our communities makes all of us thrive."

BlackRock owned 125,771,387 shares of GM in April 2023, making it GM's largest shareholder.

The Vanguard Group

Vanguard is a U.S. investor adviser firm that's owned by its shareholders. It claimed $7.2 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of April 2023. It provides investments including retirement plans and personal financial guidance.

Vanguard owned 110,305,628 General Motors shares as of April 2023 and was the second-largest shareholder at that time.

Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors is also an investment management firm. It maintained a portfolio of 423 stocks as of August 2023 and boasted an equity of $350.26 billion. Its top holdings include a few other big names: Amazon, Microsoft, and General Electric.

Capital Research was GM's third-largest shareholder as of April 2023 with 78,403,820 shares.

The Bottom Line

Calculating any company's list of top shareholders can be a bit like aiming at a shifting target. These individuals and institutions can and do sell their shares at any given time or they'll buy additional shares. Nonetheless, Mary Barra, BlackRock, and the Vanguard Group held a commanding lead over other individual and institutional investors as of mid-2023. It would set you back $27.22 per share as of Oct. 27, 2023 to try to join their ranks.