Hobby Lobby is one of the largest privately owned retail chains in the United States — a crafts and home décor giant with over 1,000 stores across the country.
But unlike most big-box retailers, it has never had a corporate parent, never traded on a stock exchange, and has never let a single outside investor through its doors. The story of who owns it is really the story of one family, one faith, and one of the most extraordinary entrepreneurial journeys in American business history.
Who Owns Hobby Lobby in 2026?
Hobby Lobby is owned and controlled by the Green family — specifically David Green, the company’s founder and CEO, along with his wife Barbara Green and their three children. No outside shareholders, no parent company, and no institutional investors hold any stake in Hobby Lobby. It is a 100% privately held family business.
The ownership structure underwent a significant formal change in October 2022, when David Green transferred 100% of Hobby Lobby’s voting stock into a Green Family Trust. Under this structure, David Green controls approximately 40% of the economic interest in the company, and Barbara Green holds an estimated 10% through family holdings and trusts.
The remaining economic interest is distributed among their three children. Court filings describe family trustees controlling voting stock through a management trust — a structure David Green himself describes publicly as “stewardship” rather than personal ownership.
Ownership and Key Stakeholders Table
| Owner / Party | Role | Stake | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Green | Founder & CEO | ~40% economic interest | Controls company through Green Family Trust since October 2022 |
| Barbara Green | Co-Founder | ~10% economic interest | Co-founded Hobby Lobby with David in 1970 with a $600 loan |
| Steve Green | President | Part of family trust | David’s son; also founder of the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. |
| Darsee Lett | Creative Director | Part of family trust | David’s daughter; leads all creative direction for Hobby Lobby stores |
| Mart Green | Family Member | Part of family trust | David’s eldest son; founder and CEO of Mardel Christian & Educational Supply |
| Green Family Trust | Holding Vehicle | 100% voting stock | All voting shares transferred here in October 2022 |
| No parent company | N/A | N/A | Hobby Lobby has no corporate parent and has never been publicly traded |
| No outside investors | N/A | N/A | No VC, PE, or institutional investors hold any stake |
The Origin Story: $600, a Garage, and a Dream
The story of Hobby Lobby starts not in a boardroom but in a kitchen — with a borrowed $600 and a box of craft supplies.
David Green was born on November 13, 1941 in Altus, Oklahoma, into a family of modest means. His father was a preacher, and the family had very little money growing up.
Green got his first job in retail as a teenager and eventually worked his way up to a manager position at a variety store chain called TG&Y. In 1970, while still working at TG&Y, David and his wife Barbara began making miniature picture frames at home and selling them to local stores.
By August 1972, business had grown enough for the couple to open a small 300-square-foot store in northwest Oklahoma City called Hobby Lobby. Green left his 13-year career at TG&Y in 1975 to open a second location. By mid-1982, there were seven Hobby Lobby stores in operation. The first store outside Oklahoma opened in 1984. From that point, the expansion never stopped.
Similar rags-to-riches founding stories can be found in who owns Taco Bell and who owns Fanatics.
How Big Is Hobby Lobby in 2026?
The numbers behind Hobby Lobby are staggering for a company that most people think of as a local crafts store.
As of 2025, Hobby Lobby operates 1,057 stores across the United States, with locations in every state except Hawaii. The company employs over 43,000 people and generates annual revenues of approximately $7.9 billion, based on the most recently reported figures.
David Green’s personal net worth is estimated at approximately $14 billion according to Forbes, making him one of the wealthiest self-made retailers in the country.
Hobby Lobby is closed every Sunday — a policy David Green has maintained since the very first store opened, at an estimated cost of tens of millions in lost sales every year. The company has also raised its minimum wage twelve times over thirteen years through 2021, making it one of the more employee-friendly large retailers in the United States.
The Faith Factor: Why This Ownership Story Is Unique
What truly sets Hobby Lobby’s ownership apart from any other major retailer is the role that Christian faith plays in every aspect of how the company is run and who it belongs to.
David Green is an Evangelical Christian who has been vocal about incorporating his faith into every corner of the business.
Hobby Lobby plays Christian music in all of its stores, closes on Sundays regardless of the financial cost, and has a corporate mission statement that explicitly references honoring God. The company does not use barcodes on any of its products — an unusual operational decision that reflects a specific religious conviction held by Green in the company’s earlier years.
In October 2022, Green made a dramatic announcement inspired in part by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who had donated his company to a climate-focused nonprofit.
Green announced he was placing Hobby Lobby’s voting stock into a trust — with the explicit intention that the company’s profits would eventually serve purposes beyond personal wealth, aligned with his Christian values and charitable mission.
He stated publicly that he chose to structure the company as a stewardship rather than a personal inheritance — meaning that future generations of the Green family are expected to be responsible caretakers of the business rather than simply wealthy heirs.
Green also funded the $500 million construction of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which opened in 2017 and was spearheaded by his son Steve Green. The museum is one of the most visible expressions of the Green family’s philanthropic vision.
The Supreme Court Case That Put Hobby Lobby on the Map
No article about Hobby Lobby’s ownership is complete without mentioning the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that made the company internationally famous.
In 2014, the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.
The case centered on whether a privately held company owned by a religious family could be exempted from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to provide employees with contraceptive coverage that conflicted with the owners’ sincere religious beliefs.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby, finding that closely held private companies could claim religious exemptions under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The ruling was one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions on religious freedom and corporate personhood in recent American legal history — and it was the Green family’s ownership structure, and their willingness to fight all the way to the highest court, that made it possible.
The Green Family: Who Runs What
Hobby Lobby is very much a family affair, with different members of the Green family running different parts of the operation.
David Green serves as Founder and CEO, setting the strategic and cultural direction of the entire company from Hobby Lobby’s headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Steve Green, David’s son, serves as President of Hobby Lobby and is responsible for day-to-day operations. He is also the founder and primary funder of the Museum of the Bible and curator of the Green Collection — a vast collection of ancient biblical manuscripts.
Darsee Lett, David’s daughter, serves as Creative Director, overseeing the visual identity, merchandising, and design direction of all Hobby Lobby stores. Mart Green, the eldest son, is not directly involved in running Hobby Lobby but operates Mardel Christian & Educational Supply, a chain of Christian bookstores.
Jon Cargill serves as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Hobby Lobby, handling the financial operations of the business alongside the Green family leadership.
For more on family-controlled business empires, read who owns Hyatt — another company where one family holds near-total control.
Will Hobby Lobby Ever Go Public?
The short answer is almost certainly no — and David Green has made this extremely clear over the years.
Hobby Lobby confirms it is not publicly traded and has no plans to be. The entire philosophy behind David Green’s stewardship model is that Hobby Lobby exists to serve a higher purpose — not to generate returns for Wall Street shareholders or meet quarterly earnings targets.
Keeping the company private gives the Green family complete freedom to close stores on Sundays, pay wages above the market rate, fund religious ministries, and run the business according to their values without any outside interference.
Unlike the Barnes & Noble story — where Elliott Management is exploring an IPO — Hobby Lobby has no such ambitions. It is built to remain private, by design, indefinitely.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Hobby Lobby in 2026?
Hobby Lobby is privately owned by the Green family, with founder and CEO David Green controlling approximately 40% of economic interest through the Green Family Trust.
Q2. Is Hobby Lobby publicly traded?
No. Hobby Lobby has never been publicly traded and has no plans to list on any stock exchange — it is a 100% privately held family business.
Q3. Who founded Hobby Lobby and when?
David Green and his wife Barbara Green founded Hobby Lobby in 1972 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, starting with a $600 loan and handmade miniature picture frames.
Q4. What is David Green’s net worth in 2026?
David Green’s net worth is estimated at approximately $14 billion, making him one of the wealthiest self-made retailers in the United States.
Q5. What was the October 2022 ownership change at Hobby Lobby?
In October 2022, David Green transferred 100% of Hobby Lobby’s voting stock into a Green Family Trust, restructuring the company as a stewardship rather than a personal inheritance.
Q6. Who is the President of Hobby Lobby?
Steve Green, son of founder David Green, serves as President of Hobby Lobby and also founded the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
Q7. How many Hobby Lobby stores are there in 2026?
As of 2025, Hobby Lobby operates 1,057 stores across the United States, with locations in every state except Hawaii.
Q8. Why is Hobby Lobby closed on Sundays?
Hobby Lobby closes every Sunday as a reflection of founder David Green’s Christian faith — a policy maintained since the company’s founding despite the significant revenue cost.
Hobby Lobby is 100% owned by the Green family of Oklahoma City, with founder and CEO David Green holding the controlling interest through a Green Family Trust that received 100% of the company’s voting stock in October 2022.
The company was built from a $600 loan in 1970, grew from a 300-square-foot store in Oklahoma City to over 1,057 locations across the U.S., and now generates approximately $7.9 billion in annual revenue. David Green’s personal net worth stands at an estimated $14 billion.
There are no outside investors, no corporate parent, and no stock market listing — and according to everything Green has said publicly, there never will be. Hobby Lobby belongs to one family, guided by one faith, with one clear mission.