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TimTheTinkeryesterday at 3:35 PM2 repliesview on HN

Maybe there's a third way. What about a company owned by a "perpetual purpose trust" - i.e. a trust with a defined purpose that is legally binding. It's the only shareholder, so no extracting value and all profits have to comply with the trust's bylaws in how they are used. Patagonia (US company) is one example of this; it's profits are legally bound to go toward environmental causes.

Bosch and Zeiss in Germany are comparable - they are Verantwortungseigentum (Steward-Ownership).


Replies

chrisweeklyyesterday at 3:38 PM

That sounds kind of like a B-Corp, innit?

show 1 reply
buellerbuelleryesterday at 5:47 PM

This is the business model of The Guardian:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Trust_Limited