<p>The global distribution of greenhouse gas emissions is shaped not only by where goods are produced or consumed but also by who owns the firms that produce them. Country-level studies have started linking emissions to asset ownership, but global estimates remain unavailable. Here we estimate ownership-based emissions across 197 jurisdictions over 2010–2022, linking emissions to asset owners using data on wealth, portfolios, capital stocks and foreign investment. We find that ownership-based footprints are highly concentrated, with inequality exceeding that in wealth and in other carbon accounting frameworks, because wealthier individuals hold more carbon-intensive asset classes. Across countries, foreign ownership emissions are growing in importance and could reshape emission responsibility between regions. Large western European countries have reduced production-based emissions, yet their foreign ownership-based emissions have not declined. Emerging policy responses such as carbon border adjustments address consumption-based international transfers, but emissions linked to the ownership of production remain largely unaccounted for.</p>