Final answer:
A corporation is a business structure that provides protection from liability to individual owners as the company is legally seen as its own entity. Private companies are owned by the people who run them on a day-to-day basis, either individually or as a group.
Step-by-step explanation:
A corporation is a business structure that provides protection from liability to individual owners, as the company is legally seen as its own entity. It is owned by shareholders who have limited liability for the company's debt but share in its profits and losses.
Corporations may be private or public and may or may not have publicly traded stock. They raise funds through selling stock or issuing bonds. Those who buy the stock become the firm's owners or shareholders, acquiring firm ownership.
A private company, on the other hand, is owned by the people who run it on a day-to-day basis. It can be run by individuals (sole proprietorship) or a group (partnership). It can also be a corporation, but with no publicly issued stock. Private companies range from small family-owned organizations to large corporations.