Not necessarily true. I can remember owning more stock in a company I worked for than several members of the board....combined. BTW, this was a VERY large Fortune 500 company.
tu salute. In any event, Some of the directors usually are major stockholders or controlled by large groups of stockholders. Ultimately they can’t hold on if they are not backed by a voting majority.
And of course, not every company is publicly owned. Or a family may retain control with a large percent even if they go public. No reason for the government to control what they make, either.