It’s a subtle distinction between labor and capital. And gets blurred by debt vs equity.

Who owns the company? The people who work there? The person who founded it? The people who the founders sold shares to? Or the people who lent it money?

Legally it’s the people who own shares. And if they miss their debt payments, it’s the lenders.

Companies can inform their shareholders “if you want to invest, here is how we operate differently.” Bezos and Buffet both do that in terms of defining focus and time horizons.

One may want to optimize for worker happiness first, but that’s not legal ownership. (Employee engagement is a predictor of shareholder return, but it’s hard to measure, and different from happiness)