Who Owns Pokemon?

Most think the answer is simply Nintendo but in actuality there is a lot of nuance in giving a clear answer. Pokemon is owned by The Pokemon Company, and The Pokemon Company is evenly owned by three other companies:

1. Nintendo — 33%
2. Game Freak — 33%
3. Creatures — 33%

However Nintendo also owns an undisclosed amount of Creatures (rumored to be more than 50%). So Nintendo technically has controlling stake of 66% when it comes to decision making for Pokemon.

Who owns Pokemon Go?

To make things even more complicated is trying to figure out who owns Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go is owned by Niantic who licenses the Pokemon brand and characters from the Pokemon Company. On top of that Nintendo owns 13% of Niantic. So Nintendo makes money both from the licensing deal with The Pokemon Company and the part ownership of Niantic.