Beneficial ownership

In domestic and international commercial law, a beneficial owner is a natural person (or persons) who ultimately owns or controls an interest in a legal entity or arrangement, such as a company, trust, or foundation. Legal owners (i.e. owners of record), commonly described as registered owners, may hold those interests as beneficial owners or for the benefit of someone else, in which case they may be described as nominees.

Beneficial owners hold specific property rights (use and title) in equity that belong to them, even though legal title to the property belongs to another person. A beneficial owner is subject to a state's statutory laws regulating interest or title transfers. This situation commonly occurs when the person who holds the legal title to a property or asset is considered to have inherent responsibilities, similar to those of a trustee, toward the individual who benefits from the property. A common example of a beneficial owner is the true owner of funds held by a nominee bank.