Most people boarding a plane do not realise that the aircraft almost certainly does not belong to the airline whose logo is painted on the fuselage — and I should know: I own a small fraction of an Airbus A380 that is leased to Emirates.
In fact, the world’s largest owner of civil aircraft is Dublin-based AerCap, which employs accountants rather than pilots. What is more, the owner of the aeroplane usually does not own the engines. The airline will have a contract for engine services — say for 10 years — with an engine manufacturer, such as Rolls-Royce, which agrees to provide power and maintain or replace the engines during that time. However, Rolls-Royce does not own the engines, either. Ownership is normally passed on to a subsidiary, in this case jointly controlled by GATX, a company whose principal activity is leasing rail carts.
What about Amazon warehouses? They can be found all over the world; the name and logo on the side reminding you that Amazon is a corporation whose revenues and market capitalisation put it among the largest businesses in the world. But, most of these “fulfilment centres” are rented — the largest provider is the San Francisco-based Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), Prologis. And whose are the goods inside? If you look at Amazon’s balance sheet, you will see that in the main you, or your credit card provider, have paid for your purchases before Amazon has paid the supplier. Most retailers employ similar practices.