PayPal is a publicly traded company with no controlling owner, and it just got a new chief executive. Enrique Lores became president and CEO effective March 1, 2026, taking over from Alex Chriss, who had led the company since September 2023.
Ownership itself hasn’t changed much — this is a standard large-cap public company story, with big index funds holding the largest blocks of stock and no individual or founding family controlling it.
Quick Facts
| Company | PayPal Holdings, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Ownership Type | Publicly traded (NASDAQ: PYPL), no controlling owner |
| President & CEO | Enrique Lores (since March 1, 2026) |
| Previous CEO | Alex Chriss (September 2023 – February 2026) |
| Largest Shareholder | The Vanguard Group (~8.5%) |
| Founded | 1998 |
Ownership History
| Year | Development |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Founded as Confinity, later merging with X.com (co-founded by Elon Musk) to become PayPal |
| 2002 | eBay acquires PayPal for approximately $1.5 billion |
| 2015 | PayPal spins off from eBay as an independent public company |
| 2023 | Alex Chriss becomes CEO, previously an Intuit executive |
| March 2026 | Enrique Lores, formerly of HP, becomes president and CEO, succeeding Chriss |
Key Ownership Highlights
- PayPal has operated as an independent public company since its 2015 spinoff from eBay, with no controlling shareholder since.
- The Vanguard Group holds the largest single stake at roughly 8.5%, typical of institutional index-fund ownership at this scale.
- The March 2026 CEO transition to Enrique Lores marks the second leadership change in about three years, reflecting continued pressure on PayPal to compete with newer fintech and payment platforms.
Related Ownership Profiles
For another major player in the mobile payments space, see who owns Cash App.
FAQ
Who owns PayPal?
No single owner — PayPal is a publicly traded company, with The Vanguard Group as its largest institutional shareholder at roughly 8.5%.
Who is PayPal’s CEO now?
Enrique Lores became president and CEO effective March 1, 2026, succeeding Alex Chriss.
Related Reading
PayPal is one of several payment-processing companies covered here, alongside Dubai-based Network International.