silent partner

Meaning

An individual who provides capital to a business venture but does not participate in its daily management or operations. They share in the profits and losses but remain inactive in decision-making and are often unknown to the public.

Examples

• He acts as a silent partner in the restaurant, providing the funding while his chef friend runs the kitchen.

  He acts as a silent partner in the restaurant, providing the funding while his chef friend runs the kitchen.

• We are looking for a silent partner who can inject capital without wanting to change our business model.

  We are looking for a silent partner who can inject capital without wanting to change our business model.

• Although she is a silent partner, she still attends the annual general meetings to review the financial audits.

  Although she is a silent partner, she still attends the annual general meetings to review the financial audits.

• The identity of their silent partner was kept confidential to protect his privacy.

  The identity of their silent partner was kept confidential to protect his privacy.

• Being a silent partner allows him to invest in promising startups without losing time from his day job.

  Being a silent partner allows him to invest in promising startups without losing time from his day job.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ He is a quiet partner in our new tech startup.

  ✓ He is a silent partner in our new tech startup.

  'Silent partner' is a fixed idiomatic business collocation. The word 'quiet' is not used to describe this type of investor.

• ✗ The silent partner runs the daily operations of the company.

  ✓ The silent partner only provides capital and does not run daily operations.

  This is a conceptual error. By definition, a silent partner does not manage daily operations; that role belongs to an active or managing partner.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I wanted to open a boutique, so my uncle agreed to be a ___ and provided the initial capital.

  💡 An investor who provides money but does not run the day-to-day operations.

  Show answer

  silent partner

• As a ___, she has no say in hiring decisions, but she does receive twenty percent of the profits.

  💡 A non-active business associate.

  Show answer

  silent partner