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How shareholders jumped to first in line for profits

Apr 25, 2022
A business theory helped put profits for shareholders ahead of other corporate interests.
Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century.
PBS

Jack Welch's legacy: value for shareholders, but not necessarily for workers

Mar 2, 2020
Once upon a time, GE put share owners last in line for company revenues. That changed in the '80s and '90s.
Former GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch, left, and then-Chairman-Elect Jeffrey Immelt announce Immelt's appointment in 2000.
Doug Kanter/AFP via Getty Images

Two big stock buybacks revive a debate

Sep 22, 2016
Shareholders like the practice, but is it good for the economy?
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

You and me? We want to maximize shareholder value, too

Jun 16, 2016
A lot of the money behind activist investors comes from pension funds and mutual funds.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Former CEO weighs in on shareholder value

Jun 16, 2016
Bill George says a company should be driven by a mission, not a stock price.
Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic. 
Credit: University of Pennsylvania, Wharton

Sears crumbles as buybacks go up

Jun 16, 2016
It's a story of a century-old business imploding.
"The company told me they truly believe they are positioning the department store for a resurgence," says reporter Hayley Peterson.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What business schools teach about shareholder value

Jun 15, 2016
More schools are telling students that profits aren't the only consideration.
Inside a Harvard Business School classroom.
HBS1908/Wikimedia Commons

For public good, not for profit.

How shareholders jumped to first in line for profits

Jun 14, 2016
A business theory helped put profits for shareholders ahead of other corporate interests.
Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century.
PBS

An anthropologist's view of Wall Street

Jun 14, 2016
'The smartest guy in the room' doesn't have a long-term outlook, Karen Ho says.
"They're sort of cultivated and come to understand themselves as the smartest guy in the room," says anthropologist Karen Ho of Wall Street culture.
William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images

Is shareholder value a myth?

Jun 14, 2016
Law professor and author Lynn Stout thinks so.
General Motors shareholders listen as then-General Motors Chairman and CEO Richard Wagoner, Jr., not shown, speaks during a meeting.
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images