Who owns Wix and what is the company's ownership structure?

Founders and Leadership

Wix was founded in 2006 by three Israeli developers: Avishai Abrahami, Nadav Abrahami, and Giora Kaplan. The idea originated while they were building a website on a beach for another startup project, where they recognized the difficulty and expense of website creation. This insight led them to develop a platform that would enable anyone to build professional websites without coding expertise.

Avishai Abrahami continues to serve as Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, maintaining active involvement in the company's operations alongside the other founders who retain significant ownership stakes.

Public Company Status

Wix is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol WIX, having completed its initial public offering on November 5, 2013. This public listing means that ownership is distributed across various stakeholder groups rather than being controlled by a single entity.

Ownership Distribution

The ownership structure consists of three main categories:

Institutional Investors hold the dominant position at 83.93% of the company. Major institutional shareholders include BlackRock Fund Advisors, Baillie Gifford & Co., Capital Research and Management Company, and FMR LLC. Their substantial ownership demonstrates confidence in Wix's long-term growth prospects and market position.

Public Shareholders account for 15.44% of ownership, comprising individual investors and smaller institutions that have purchased shares on the stock market. This public ownership provides Wix with capital for expansion, research and development, and continued innovation.

Individual Insiders, including company executives and board members, hold 0.63% of shares. This category includes the founding team members who remain actively involved in the company's strategic direction.

Board Leadership

Mark Tluszcz serves as the Independent Board Chair, having joined the board in 2010. Avishai Abrahami sits on the board in his capacity as Co-founder and CEO, bringing over 17 years of leadership experience to the company.

This mixed ownership structure creates a collaborative environment that balances the vision of the founders with the interests of institutional and public investors, fostering sustainable growth while maintaining the company's original mission of empowering users to create professional websites.