There are two standards for a corporate executive to consider: 1) What the majority of the shareholders say 2) What a court would rule if a minority of the shareholders decided to sue the executive on the grounds that they (and presumably the majority stake) are depriving the minority shareholder of profits they have a legal fiduciary responsibility to provide.

What you are speaking about is #2. There is a high bar for such lawsuits, but there is a legal standard.

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