Hobby Lobby is a privately held company founded by David Green, and it remains under the control of the Green family, but its formal ownership has been restructured into a trust rather than being held directly by him personally.

Who owns Hobby Lobby today?

  • Hobby Lobby is not publicly traded; it is a private company headquartered in Oklahoma City.
  • Founder and longtime CEO David Green announced in 2022 that he had “given away” ownership by transferring 100% of the company’s voting stock into a trust structure.
  • The trust is designed so that stewardship of the company passes from one responsible person to another over time, rather than ownership being treated as a family asset that can be sold off.
  • Operationally, the business is still run by the Green family, with David Green as CEO and his son Steve Green as president.

In practical terms, that means when people ask “who owns Hobby Lobby,” the most accurate short answer is: it is controlled by the Green family through a purpose‑driven trust rather than by outside shareholders or a parent corporation.

Recent news and online discussion

  • David Green framed the change as choosing purpose over personal wealth, explicitly comparing it to Patagonia’s move to place its shares into a purpose trust.
  • The profits are structured to support Christian ministries and charitable giving, and Green has publicly said the company gives away a large portion of its profits each year.
  • In 2024, viral posts on social media incorrectly claimed that a “David Green” at the Heritage Foundation (linked to Project 2025) was the same person who owns Hobby Lobby; fact‑checkers confirmed these are two different individuals and that the Heritage Foundation official does not own Hobby Lobby.

This confusion has fueled renewed forum and social media debates about Hobby Lobby’s political and religious affiliations, boycotts, and how much influence its founding family still has, even after the ownership transfer.

Key points at a glance

  • Founder: David Green.
  • Control: Green family, via a trust holding 100% of voting stock.
  • Not publicly traded: no public shareholders.
  • Online chatter: ongoing discussion and some misinformation tying a different “David Green” to Hobby Lobby’s ownership and political projects, which has been debunked.

TL;DR: Hobby Lobby is effectively owned and controlled by the Green family through a special trust structure created by founder David Green, rather than by public investors or another corporation.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.