Owner's Equity

Owner's equity, is the residual claim of the owners of the business on its assets after recognition of the liabilities of the business. Owner's equity repre-sents the amounts contributed by the owners to the business, plus the accumulated income of the business since its formation, less any amounts that have been distributed to the owners, Accounting and Finance for Lawyers in a Netshell, Charles H. Meyer, 4 (1995).

Means the aggregate of the owners' financial interest in the assets of a business entity; the capital contributed by the owners plus any retained earnings. Also termed (in a corporation) shareholders' equity; stockholders' equity, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 1131.