Someone could, in theory, come along and buy up all the stocks of microsoft and run it as 1 person

And then it would be private, yes? Implying that before that happens, it’s not private?

Like how both my mum and dad own their house, that means their house is publicly owned?

No, that’s a family unit. I already said that. Private comes from the Latin privus, which, in its origin, basically means family unit. The concept of the individual came later in the empire, because the prevailing theology involved forgiving an individual person’s sins, outside the perspective of their family. Latin was still the dominant language at the time, so “private” came to mean an individual or family unit. It remained so, because the wealth of the individual tends to be shared with the family anyway. Ownership is passed to next of kin, and family members typically help with and/or inherit businesses.

You still havt answered it now, other than a shrug and a “its complicated”

Actually I did answer, I very clearly gave you what I thought, and the reason behind it. Just read it:

Yes, if a private family unit or individual owns 50% of the stakes of a company, I think we can safely say it’s privately controlled, at the very least. That said, there would still be 50% owned by shareholders, so it’s still collectively owned to a degree. Ownership and control are different but equally important aspects. Looks like there’s nuance here, hey?

I gave you a straight answer on my belief, and expanded on why there’s nuance to the question. That’s different than not answering, and that’s different than just saying it’s complicated.

Private Ownership: the fact of being owned by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body.

So which private individual or organization owns Microsoft?