Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has released the list of its shareholders who backed Musk in his $44 billion acquisition of the platform in October 2022, according to a Washington Post report, which added that this was the result of an order from a US federal judge.

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Who were the shareholders of X?

The list of nearly 100 companies includes some of Silicon Valley’s best-known venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, as well as several funds controlled by the same person.

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These include Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, Saudi Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Al Saud, hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Italian financial services company UnipolSai SPA and 8VC, a venture capital firm co-founded by Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of data analytics platform Palantir.

Why did X publish its shareholder list?

Former Twitter employees claimed in 2023 that X violated their arbitration agreements by failing to pay them fees after Elon Musk bought the company.

That’s why lawyers from the nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a motion in July demanding the release of the documents on behalf of independent technology journalist Jacob Silverman.

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As a result, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered on Tuesday that X must submit the list and disclose all investors.

“People have a right to know who owns a company that plays such an important role in shaping public discourse both in the United States and around the world,” Silverman wrote. This came after Musk personally endorsed former President Donald Trump and conducted an interview with him on the platform.