What Is the Robinho Number
The Robinho number is a network distance metric that quantifies how closely an entity is connected to a reference company or individual through public ownership, investment, or board relationships. It is inspired by the Erdős number and the Bacon number, but applied to corporate and financial networks. The lower the Robinho number, the fewer steps separate the entity from the target, indicating a tighter link in the ownership or governance chain.
The metric is typically calculated by mapping public filings, such as SEC Form 13F, Schedule 13D, and Schedule 13G, into a graph where nodes are entities and edges are significant ownership or board seats. Each direct link to the target counts as one step. The Robinho number is the shortest path length from a given entity to the target in this graph. The concept is useful for investors, analysts, and regulators who want a quick, data-driven way to understand hidden linkages between funds, executives, and companies.
How the Robinho Number Is Calculated
Step 1: Define the Target Entity
The first step is to choose a target company or person, such as Tesla or Elon Musk, and collect all public ownership and governance links from sources like the SEC EDGAR database and institutional ownership filings. These links include direct shareholdings above disclosure thresholds, board memberships, and derivative ownership structures reported in Form 4 and Form 5 filings.
The second step is to build a directed graph where each node is a legal entity, fund, or individual, and each edge represents a disclosed ownership or governance link. Edge weights can reflect ownership percentage or role type. The third step is to run a shortest-path algorithm from every other node to the target. The resulting distances become the Robinho numbers. This process is fully automated and can be updated as new filings are released, ensuring the metric stays current with the latest public data.
Why the Robinho Number Matters
Use Cases for Investors and Analysts
Investors use the Robinho number to quickly assess whether a fund or executive is closely tied to a high-profile company or activist investor. A low Robinho number can signal potential alignment of interests, shared strategic vision, or exposure to the same decision-making circle. This information complements traditional fundamental analysis and helps users spot concentrated influence in a portfolio or a corporate board.
Regulators and compliance teams use the Robinho number to map hidden connections that may not be obvious from headline ownership data. For example, a fund with a Robinho number of 2 to a major tech company might reveal an indirect link through a common board member or a shared large investor. Public resources such as the SEC's EDGAR system provide the underlying filings needed to compute these connections reliably. Similarly, detailed corporate profiles and ownership structures on platforms like Forbes and Tesla's investor relations page can help verify the entities and relationships used in the calculation.