Final answer:
Property owned in severalty is typically owned by a single individual or entity, analogous to a sole proprietorship in the business world. This contrasts with partnerships or private corporations with no publicly traded stock, which involve multiple owners or complex structures.
Step-by-step explanation:
If property is owned in severalty, it is most likely owned by a single individual or entity. In the context of a private company, ownership in severalty aligns with the concept of a sole proprietorship, where an individual not only runs the company on a daily basis but also has full ownership and is therefore entitled to all profits and responsible for all debts. A sole proprietor could be a person running a small law firm by themselves, or any individual who establishes a business where the legal entity is not separate from the owner.
This differs from a partnership, where a group of individuals share ownership and the obligations of the business. Similarly, it is distinct from a corporation with no publicly issued stock, where the company is a separate legal entity, which can be privately owned by one person or a small number of people, but the ownership structure can be more complex.
Examples of large private corporations that are not sole proprietorships and do not have publicly issued stock include Cargill, the Mars candy company, and the Bechtel engineering and construction firm, illustrating that private companies can vary greatly in size and ownership structure.