> So you own something, but have absolutely no rights to the profits and practically no decision making power. In the spirit of the usual definition of "owning"

> So you own something, but have absolutely no rights to the profits and practically no decision making power. In the spirit of the usual definition of "owning" something, you do not own anything with stocks. I would disagree. I can sell those stocks I own and (hopefully) get more money than I paid for them. Sometimes they pay me a dividend too (share of profits). Sounds like ownership to me. I don't care about decision making power within the company. I LIKE that I have delegated that responsibility.