In August 2019 the Business Roundtable issued a statement proclaiming that corporations should justify existence by looking beyond the traditional narrow focus of serving shareholders. It must, as the statement declares, consider other stakeholders, including suppliers, employees, customers, and the environment. Reflecting on this statement, the author of this New York Times article draws our attention to evidence that shareholders, and particularly small and individual shareholders of corporations, have experienced ever diminishing rights and powers over the past several decades. In an environment where the gap between executive and median pay is at historic highs, the author draws our attention to how we have gotten here and what we, as investors, can do about it.
