Earlier quoted context omitted.
The shareholders literally own the company, so they are the ones who get to decide what gets maximized. Most shareholders decide they want returns to themselves to be maximized. Not all will in every single company at every point in time, but it's likely the case 99.9% of the time.
> The shareholders literally own the company […] They do not actually. * https://archive.ph/VCUp4 / https://www.ft.com/content/7bd1b20a-879b-11e5-90de-f44762bf9... * https://www.pqmagazine.com/the-myth-of-shareholder-ownership... * https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergeorgescu/2021/07/21/the-s... * https://edwardslaw.ca/blog/shareholders-agreements-in-canada... * https://www.ippr.org/articles/who-owns-a-company * https…
Having IOUs from the company in the form of future goods or services owed to customers, interest payments owed to debtholders or future taxes owed to the government do not equate to having an actual ownership in the business.