The Ownership and Control of Australian Companies in the Interwar Period

Abstract We examine corporate ownership and control using a sample of 90 Australian companies in the 1930s. The interwar period was formative in Australia for the growth of corporations and share ownership, although investor protections and information lagged. We estimate the ownership share of the Board, separately the CEO/Chairman, and other significant blockholders. Our sources enable us to account for shares controlled indirectly through family ownership and related entities. This matters to our results, especially in identifying family firms. Board ownership was similar to the US and UK in the early twentieth century; but taking account of shares controlled through related entities changes the story to an insider system where ownership and control had not separated. Dual CEOs mattered and blockholders beyond the Board. The drivers of these patterns of ownership and control included the role of family firms, firm age and size, and the types of shares.