How many WWE shares does Vince McMahon own?

Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon retired from the business in July 2022 but continues to hold most of the power due to his magnanimous shareholding. The latest reports indicate he is heading back to the Stanford-based promotion.

Mr. McMahon is on a mission to get elected to the Board of Directors and assume the position of Executive Director. Moreover, he is reportedly planning to sell WWE.

As pointed out by Wall Street Journal, McMahon holds the majority of Class-B Stock, giving him the authority to sway the proceedings at the promotion.

A report by Security and Exchange Commission noted the amount of shares held by Vince McMahon in WWE. According to information provided by the Issuer in the Quarterly Report, McMahon holds approximately 69,157 shares of Class A Common Stock and 28,682,948 shares of Class B Common Stock. His holdings in Class-B Stock represents 92% of the total shares.

Each share of Class B Common Stock is entitled to ten votes per share unless subject to a single class vote. Also, the shares owned by Vince represent “approximately 81.0% of the Issuer’s total voting power” as deemed by the report.

These are some staggering numbers. It comes as no surprise that the WWE share price has jumped 10% ahead of McMahon’s rumored return. Later this year, the wrestling promoter is expected to renegotiate the media rights deals for its flagship programs, USA Network’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ and Fox's ‘Friday Night SmackDown’. This is an unexpected move as these aforementioned contracts expire in October 2024.

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Vince McMahon removed three members from WWE’s Board of Directors

According to Vince McMahon’s press release, the 77-year old sent two letters to the Board in late December in which he expressed the urgency of his return to WWE as Executive Chairman. He stressed upon the maximization of shareholders' profits as the “controlling shareholder.”

Making their way out of the Board would be JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R. Speed, and Alan M. Wexler. The process of their removal has gone forward as per the report by SEC Washington. In place of them, Vince McMahon has elected himself and former co-presidents and directors, Michelle Wilson and George Barrios.

The Board responded to Vince via email and is apparently prepared to initiate a review process. It was agreed that McMahon's return would not be in the best interests of the shareholders. Nevertheless, the former CEO was willing to settle any reimbursement for expenses related to the investigation centered around him.