The world's richest companies are more than just money-making machines. Here's a look at their fascinating histories and the secrets to their success.
These days, it seems that anyone can be a business tycoon with the right idea and some investment capital. But how did some of the most successful companies in the world begin? While many of today’s corporations are household names, their beginnings were humble enough that even schoolchildren could tell you about them. From Hershey’s delicious chocolate empire to Wal-Mart’s humble beginnings as a small family store, check out these seven of the world’s richest companies’ fascinating stories and how they came to be some of the biggest names in business today.
10 - Walmart
In 1962, brothers Bud Walton and Sam Walton opened a chain of discount stores in Arkansas under their own name, Walton’s Five & Dime. Known for its low prices, Walmart (as it is now known) eventually spread across most of America and began expanding globally in 1991. Today, Walmart is one of the largest public corporations in America—and also one of its most successful: last year alone, it took in $466 billion in sales around the globe (that’s 20% higher than Apple’s annual revenue). Last year as well, Walmart added $14 billion to its already massive fortune (approximately $274 billion)—which earns it a spot on our list at number 10! 9 - Berkshire Hathaway: With a net worth of over $320 billion, Warren Buffett has been called the greatest investor who ever lived. The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has made his company billions by purchasing businesses with strong fundamentals that have excellent long-term prospects but are not yet fully valued by investors. One example is See’s Candies, which Buffett bought in 1972 for $25 million; today, it generates about $1 billion per year in profits and has a book value of over $1.5 billion! Another example is Coca Cola—Buffett purchased 8 million shares back in 1988 for less than $1 per share; today those shares trade at about $60 each!
9 - Royal Dutch Shell
The Dutch love for watery landscapes is evident in some of their culture’s greatest works of art—and also in one of its largest oil companies, Shell. The company actually owes its origins to two companies: Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (founded in 1890) and Shell Transport & Trading Company (1901). The group merged in 1907, with headquarters based in London. After World War II, Shell acquired California Eastern Airways, renamed it Phillips Petroleum Co., then quickly sold it after a deal with Standard Oil fell through. In 1968, Shell bought Gulf Oil. In 2002, Royal Dutch/Shell Group became just Royal Dutch/Shell Group; in 2005, it changed again to Royal Dutch Shell plc. It currently has operations on every continent except Antarctica. And there are rumors that they have a secret lab there as well...
8 - State Grid Corporation of China
A company founded in 2002 as a holding company for all of China’s power assets, State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) is a nearly $200 billion conglomerate with global operations that have earned it recognition on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. A few years ago, SGCC was tasked with electrifying one of its country’s most rural provinces. Instead of building new power plants, though, SGCC constructed tall towers linked by wires that can transmit electricity over long distances—similar to how cell phones transmit signals over radio waves. Thanks to these towers and wires, several villages in Sichuan province were able to start receiving electricity from remote sources within hours of construction being completed. This allowed locals to use electric lights, which made them safer and gave children access to education after dark. The project also reduced pollution levels because residents didn’t need firewood or coal stoves for heat or cooking. This kind of ingenuity is what has helped SGCC earn so much money: The corporation posted profits of $4.3 billion last year alone.
7 - Exxon Mobil
Worth $341 billion, Exxon Mobil is currently led by CEO Rex Tillerson (pictured above). The massive oil conglomerate dates back to 1889 when Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now Exxon) was first established by John D. Rockefeller and Henry Flagler. The company was incorporated in 1870 as Standard Oil Company of Ohio which changed its name to Standard Oil Company of New Jersey in 1882, four years after it moved from Cleveland, Ohio, to New York City. Three years later, one of its executives—Rockefeller—founded another branch of Standard Oil Company in Cleveland, where he also started refining operations on behalf of his former employers. That’s how two separate companies were born: Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and Standard Oil Company of Ohio, both with Rockefeller as an executive. In 1899, these two entities merged into one: Standard Oil Trust, with total assets worth $1.4 billion (more than $32 billion today). Eight years later, U.S.
6 - Lukoil
An American company might come to mind when you think of oil barons, but not many people realize that Lukoil is actually headquartered in Russia. The Russian energy giant has been operating since 1976 and owns one of the largest gas reserves in Europe. Lukoil also operates an extensive network of filling stations, which serve as a good way for customers to get fuel without having to travel very far from home. Lukoil keeps its exact net worth private, but it’s reported that today it sits around $46 billion – surely on its way up soon with all that crude oil sitting in Russia right now! In terms of sheer volume, BP is easily number one on our list with proven reserves topping 115 billion barrels of crude oil plus 270 trillion cubic feet of natural gas! That’s enough to power every vehicle in America for almost 20 years. With such massive amounts of resources at hand, it should be no surprise that BP earned nearly $200 billion last year alone. For being so valuable, you can bet that safety is high on BP’s priority list; after all, if something goes wrong out there on those rigs or offshore platforms, someone could lose their life (or worse). As such, they have invested heavily in cutting edge technologies like robotics and remote monitoring systems designed to keep workers safe while drilling. Though ExxonMobil may not be as big as some other companies out there (it ranks fifth worldwide), it certainly has made a name for itself over time by being consistently profitable year after year – even during recessions!
5 - Sinopec Group
The third largest oil and gas enterprise in China, Sinopec has been ranked as one of Fortune 500’s top 500 global enterprises for over two decades, since 1994. It has also been included on Forbes list of Asia’s 100 Best Under A Billion, among other recognitions. The company was founded as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) in January 1984 with total assets of 710 million yuan ($96 million). The corporation is based in Beijing, with businesses including crude oil exploration and development, refined oil products production and sales, petrochemicals production, natural gas production and sales, chemical manufacturing, coal mining operations, electronic equipment supply services among others. In 2007, it posted revenues of $111 billion and net income of $6.4 billion.
In 2008 SINOPEC acquired British Gas plc for $15 billion, creating what is now known as Sinopec Group. In 2009 it purchased Addax Petroleum Corp., an African energy company that held concessions in Iraq, Libya and Syria; meanwhile its refinery capacity reached 255 million tons per year with a total refining throughput volume exceeding 690 million tons per year by 2011. In 2013 it sold its 50% stake in Addax Petroleum for about $1 billion after buying out Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s share earlier that year; meanwhile its revenue exceeded $200 billion while net profit stood at $13 billion by 2014.
4 - Russia State Oil Company (Rosneft)
The Rosneft Oil Company is Russia’s largest crude oil producer, with an output of 583 million barrels in 2012 alone. It was originally owned by another Russian state enterprise, which was privatized in 1996, after which it began increasing its market share by buying up rival oil companies—more on that later. In 2006 Rosneft acquired UK company TNK (Tyumen Oil) for $13 billion, which led to TNK-BP being formed as a joint venture with British Petroleum (BP). TNK-BP has proven itself one of Russia’s most successful foreign operations: in 2013 it produced 426 million barrels of oil from assets across eastern Siberia and Alaska. As a result of BP selling off its stake in TNK-BP earlier this year, Rosneft now owns 100% of both companies.
3 - Berkshire Hathaway Energy/MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. LLC
The Oracle of Omaha is Warren Buffett, who has been hailed as one of history’s greatest investors. His investment vehicles, Berkshire Hathaway and its portfolio of subsidiaries, have businesses including insurance, railroads, real estate holdings, utilities (including renewable energy), newspaper publishing and manufacturing (including plastics). The conglomerate has $143 billion in revenues with shareholders' equity of $166 billion—and net income was $12 billion in 2014. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. LLC, an electric utility company based in Des Moines, Iowa, is owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., which itself is wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway. With $15 billion in revenues and shareholders' equity of $16 billion, it had net income of $1.3 billion last year. Its regulated utilities serve 3 million customers across 11 states: Iowa; Illinois; South Dakota; Nebraska; North Dakota; Montana; Wyoming; Colorado; New Mexico; West Texas and Utah.
2 - Apple Inc. / Exxon Mobil Corporation
Tim Cook, Apple Inc.: It was in 1998 that Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple Inc., one of his most notable achievements being the production of what is now called the iPod. Shortly after Jobs died in 2011, Tim Cook became CEO, but continued with much of what Jobs had established when he led Apple. The company has since experienced some tough times, with sales dropping year by year, even after launching its newest product: The iPhone 6 Plus – earning only $39 million compared to 2013’s profit of $57 billion. However, there has been an overall improvement as 2016 is seeing increased profits; perhaps 2017 will be better for Apple? 3 - Alphabet (Google) / Royal Dutch Shell: Larry Page, Alphabet (Google): In 2015, Google introduced Alphabet as its new parent company. Alphabet manages Google and several other ventures created by Larry Page such as Calico (which focuses on health issues related to aging), Nest Labs (which produces smart home products), DeepMind Technologies (an artificial intelligence company) and others.
1 - Saudi Aramco Public Shareholding Co
Saudi Aramco, also known as Saudi Arabian Oil Company, was founded in 1933 by royal decree. The company is run by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources (MPMR). In 2017, it recorded revenues of $234 billion and had proven reserves of 266 billion barrels of oil – making it one of the most valuable energy companies in history. Its current CEO is Amin Nasser who has been serving since 2017. 2 - China National Petroleum Corporation: Founded in 1988, CNPC is a state-owned enterprise that operates under China’s State Council. It controls all aspects of oil production and distribution within mainland China. CNPC owns 4 million gas stations across its operations and reported revenues of $228 billion in 2017 with total assets valued at over $473 billion. Its current chairman is Wang Yilin who took over from Jiang Jiemin back in 2012.
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