Concept:Ordinary shareholders are the true owners of a company because they have the final claim on any remaining assets after all debts and prior claims are settled.
Explanation:When a public limited liability company is liquidated, its assets are first used to pay creditors and liquidation expenses.
Next, claims of debenture shareholders and preference shareholders are settled according to their priority rights.
Only after these obligations have been fully met can the remaining or residual value be shared among the owners.
This remaining value is called the residual claim, and it belongs to the ordinary shareholders.
Thus, ordinary shareholders are regarded as the residual owners of the company.
Answer:D. ordinary shareholders