Hi Rabbi. I was wondering what is the halacha of owning shares in tlcertain types of companies such as credit card lenders, online gambling companies, entertainment like movies and shows, social media. Is it permissible to own shares?
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Yes. Rav Moshe Feinstein addresses this very directly in Igrot Moshe, Even HaEzer I:7, regarding buying shares in companies that operate on Shabbat.
His basic point is that an ordinary shareholder is not really viewed halachically as an owner of the underlying business. He writes:
וגם אין הקונה שערם רוצה להיות בעלים בהמסחר ואינו רוצה לקנות כלום בהמסחר אלא הוא רק כקונה ריוח והפסד
“The purchaser of shares does not intend to become an owner of the business or to acquire anything in the business itself. Rather, he is essentially purchasing participation in the profit and loss of the business.”
He then goes even further:
ויותר נראה שאין בהם גדר קנין בדינא… רק מצד קניני דיני המדינה
“It appears even more that this is not an ordinary halachic form of ownership, but rather a financial right created through the commercial laws of the country.”
In other words, if I own a few shares of a huge public company, I am not halachically considered the owner of a tiny piece of every building, hamburger, loan, movie, casino, or other activity that company conducts. I am essentially holding an investment whose value rises and falls with the company.
Rav Moshe therefore concludes:
ולכן אין בזה שום איסור וכמו שנוהגין הרבה בנ״א ואף יראי חטא לקנות
“Therefore there is no prohibition in this, as is the common practice of many people, including God-fearing people, to purchase such shares.”
He even says that the theoretical right to vote for corporate leadership does not change this when, practically speaking, the ordinary shareholder has no meaningful influence over the company.
The exception is when someone owns:
מדה מרובה כ״כ עד שיתחשבו בדעתו
“Such a large amount that his opinion is actually taken into consideration.”
At that point, he is no longer merely a passive investor and the halachic issues of the company’s activities may become his issues as well.
So following Rav Moshe, I see no problem with an ordinary investor owning shares in credit-card companies, gambling companies, entertainment companies, social-media companies, non-kosher restaurant chains, or companies operating on Shabbat. A small passive investment is not the same thing as halachically owning and operating the business.
Ok. Thank you for the clarification.