DETROIT – Ford Motor Chair Invoice Ford has been slowly amassing extra shares, and management, of the automaker his great-grandfather based in 1903.

In contrast to Elon Musk and different CEOs who’ve not too long ago cashed out a few of their firm inventory as costs soared, Ford has been doubling down on his namesake firm over the past decade.

The 64-year-old is the corporate’s largest particular person shareholder with 2.3 million shares of Ford’s widespread inventory. Extra importantly, he is additionally the most important holder of the automaker’s Class B shares that carry super-voting powers which have allowed the Ford household to retain management of the corporate. Whereas the Class B shares account for two% of Ford’s excellent inventory, they management 40% of the voting energy.

Invoice Ford instantly owns 16.1 million, or 23%, of the Class B shares, that are solely obtainable to members of the family. That is quadruple the roughly 4 million, or 5.7%, he owned in 2012, based on FactSet.

From Satya Nadella at Microsoft to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, CEOs, founders and different firm insiders have been cashing of their inventory on the highest tempo on report. Ford’s rising stake within the firm bucks a current pattern by CEOs and company insiders who bought a report $69 billion in inventory in 2021, as looming tax hikes and lofty share costs inspired many to take income.

Ford, whose stake has grown via his work as chairman of the board, mentioned he is holding on to his shares due to his “super confidence” within the firm’s administration group, led by CEO Jim Farley, to ship on Farley’s Ford+ turnaround plan specializing in electrical and related autos. He obtained $16 million in complete compensation from Ford in 2020, which got here in a mixture of advantages, money and fairness awards.

Ford acquired 412,500 further Class B shares final month which might be being held in a household belief. The transfer got here roughly every week after he acquired virtually 2 million widespread shares of the corporate by exercising inventory choices, a few of which have been set to run out.

As a substitute of cashing in on the $18 million in proceeds he would have gotten from exercising the choices like most executives do, Ford paid $20.5 million in money in addition to taxes on the positive aspects to carry on to the shares.

“I simply really feel like we’re very properly positioned to ship superior shareholder returns and I for one needed to be an enormous a part of that,” Ford instructed CNBC. “I believe in some ways we’ve got a possibility to create probably the most worth for shareholders because the scaling of the Mannequin T.”

In contrast to his predecessor, Farley has received investor confidence since taking up the helm in October 2020. Shares of the automaker have surged by about 270% since then, sending its market worth above $100 billion on Thursday for the primary time ever. 2020 marked the primary yr since 2001 that Ford’s inventory has topped $20 a share.

The inventory closed Wednesday at $25.02 a share, with the corporate’s market worth at $99.99 billion. Ford’s now price greater than crosstown rival Normal Motors, which is valued at about $90 billion.

Beneath Farley’s Ford+ plan, the corporate is pivoting exhausting to EVs, together with the Mustang Mach E and all-electric Ford F-150, in addition to related companies to generate recurring income. The corporate expects an 8% adjusted revenue margin earlier than curiosity and taxes in 2023 — sooner than many analysts anticipated.

“The Mach-E and the Lightning, each their order banks simply overwhelmed us,” Ford mentioned. “We’re on this electrification journey, however it’s greater than that. It is connecting to the shopper, it is all of the companies that might be developed round electrification.”

Ford instantly owns about 20.3 million shares, together with restricted, widespread and Class B inventory. The holdings, which can exclude some trusts, are price greater than $500 million as of Thursday’s closing worth.

There are 71 million Class B shares price about $1.8 billion held by descendants of firm founder Henry Ford. The Ford household’s voting energy diminishes as soon as their Class B shares fall under about $60.8 million.

Some have criticized the dual-share system for unfairly permitting the household to retain management of the automaker. Ford has repeatedly defended the twin share construction as permitting the automaker to pay attention extra on the long-term and never be one other “anonymous, faceless company.”

“I believe it is actually necessary that the household legacy proceed,” he mentioned. “It offers us a face and possibly a humanity that loads of different corporations haven’t got.”

The twin-class inventory construction, which has been in place because the firm went public in 1956, has confronted quite a few shareholder challenges. Ultimately yr’s shareholder assembly, 36.3% of voters supported a system that gave each share an equal vote, barely increased than the 35.3% common since 2013.

Ford believes his inventory possession helps his protection of the household’s shares and voting energy. Ford mentioned he cannot bear in mind, if ever, promoting Ford shares within the open market. That does not embrace exercising choices, transferring shares to trusts or changing widespread shares to Class B inventory.

“I am on this for the lengthy haul. That is my life and I like the corporate,” he mentioned. “I actually consider that we’re headed for an unimaginable future.”

– CNBC’s Robert Frank contributed to this report.