The history of Mankind is inextricably linked with the history of the production he created. Since ancient times, people have produced and sold goods, performed certain work, and provided services.
Since the organization of any company, its management has been dreaming of expanding production, expanding the sales market and maximizing profit.
In the modern world, large companies have become the main link in a market economy. They are different in the direction of economic activity and the types of services provided, but all have the same criteria - the amount of revenue and the number of employees.
It is these criteria that we will take to consider the largest companies in the world at the present stage of the development of Mankind.
The largest companies in the world:
20
General Motors. USA
The world's most powerful automobile manufacturer has established the production of its cars in 35 countries of the world.
General Motors is firmly in third place in the world in sales after Toyota and Volkswagen.
Having survived difficult periods in the early 2000s, the concern was able to avoid complete bankruptcy and was reborn again.
In recent years, the company has been actively conquering the automobile market in Russia, having 154 dealers of only the Chevrolet brand, which also specialized in the sale of Opel and Cadillac cars.
19
AXA. France
A group of French investment and insurance companies, united under the general name "AXA Group". The largest company is recognized as systemically important for the global economy.
The company with an office in Paris has a glorious and long history. Under the name "Mutuelle de L’assurance contre L’incendie" began its financial activities in 1816.
With the beginning of the 2000s, she began to actively explore and expand into the financial space of Asia and Latin America.
Activities in the field of lending allows AXA to constantly enter the top 20 leading companies in the world with a large amount of annual profit. And about the largest French companies on thebiggest.ru there is a very interesting article.
18
Daimler Germany
The headquarters of the transnational automobile concern is located in German Stuttgart. One of the oldest European enterprises was established in 1886.
Daimler is a leading global automaker. In 2014, the concern sold 2.5 million cars worldwide.
From a purely German brainchild today, the concern has become world-wide. Shares are evenly distributed between American, Eastern and European shareholders.
The car dealership also holds a leading position in the world in bribery lawsuits.
17
Samsung South Korea
Apple's eternal rival in the production of smartphones, South Korean Samsung began work in 1938.
The company specializes in the production of telecommunication equipment, high-tech components, audio and video devices, as well as household appliances.
Over 70% of Samsung's worldwide sales are in the electronics industry.
The quality and reliability of the products of the Seoul concern allowed to win the love of consumers and popularity around the world.
16
Exor Group. Italy
For more than a hundred years, the Italian company Exor has been working in the investment market. The capital of the company, which belongs to the Agnelli family, is $ 13 billion.
Of this capital, 53% belongs to the head of the company Giovanni Agnelli.
The company actively invests in leading trading companies around the world. In Italy, Exor Group owns part of the shares of the Fiat automobile concern and the famous Juventus football club.
Active investment activity allows the company to stay in the twenty largest world companies in terms of total profit.
And about the best football clubs in the world on thebiggest there is a very fascinating article.
15
British Petroleum. Great Britain
In the energy market, British Petroleum ranks second in the world in terms of oil production and refining.
The company began its journey in 1901 with the receipt of a patent for the search and production of oil in Persia. And today, the annual turnover of the oil and gas giant is about $ 230 billion.
In 2011, a major deal fell through the actual merger of British Petroleum with Rosneft. The British concern is a public company with 95% of its shares in free float.
14
Toyota Motor. Japan
The world-famous Japanese automobile company Toyota, in addition to cars, is engaged in investment activities. And the story of the largest public company in the world in 1937 began with the production of looms.
The turnover of Toyota Motor in 2016 amounted to $ 236.592 billion, which allowed it to take 8th place in the Fortune Global ranking.
In the history of the concern there was a period of participation of Toyota cars in the prestigious Formula-1 competition.
For a long time, the company manages to implement the philosophical concept of continuous improvement.
13
Chevron USA
The US energy company Chevron, despite the crisis, continues to maintain a leading position in the ranking of the world's leading companies.
Founded in 1879, Chevron, thanks to the takeover of smaller companies, has become the leading US energy company.
Falling world oil prices have affected the oil giant’s profits. For example, in 2015, the company's revenue decreased by 10%.
But thanks to successful marketing and aggressive protectionist policies, Chevron is the undoubted global energy leader.
12
Total France
The French oil and gas company Total began to conquer the energy market in 1934.
Absorbing small companies, the energy leader of France expanded not only the sphere of influence, but also increased its authorized capital.
The company is active in 11 countries. Since 1999, Total has been developing oil fields in Russia.
Total over the years has been firmly taking the 4th place in the world among oil and gas concerns in terms of production volume and annual profit.
11
McKesson. USA
McKesson, the world leader in pharmaceutical manufacturing and the largest distributor of pharmaceuticals, was founded back in 1833.
The annual profit from operations is about $ 1.5 billion. Pharmacy chains, except for the United States, are located in Australia, as well as large states in Western Europe.
The head office of a pharmaceutical manufacturer and dealer is located in San Francisco.
10
Glencore International AG. Switzerland
The Swiss trading company Glencore International AG holds a leading position in the world in the supply of raw materials and rare earth materials.
Over the 40 years of its work, Glencore has achieved good results and has gained worldwide trust in the supply of petroleum products, metals, agricultural, food and automotive products.
According to the data for 2018, 158 thousand employees are employed in the company’s branches, which is 48 thousand more than two years earlier.
In 2011, Glencore shares were listed on the world's leading trading exchanges, in Hong Kong and London. This allowed the Swiss company to further strengthen its position in the global market. At thebiggest.ru you can also find out about the most reliable Swiss banks.
9
Apple USA
The American company Apple was at the forefront of the development of computer production. Today it is one of the leading companies in the production of computer equipment, telephones and software in the world.
In 1976, Apple launched its first programmable microcomputer, and today the products of the electronic giant are used in all countries of the world.
For 2012, Apple totaled 5,440 copyright patents, which is a record world record.
8
Volkswagen Germany
In 2007, the largest German automobile manufacturer sold a record 5 million 20 thousand cars under the Volkswagen brand.
About 503 thousand workers are employed in the production of the People’s Car worldwide. In 2015, Volkswagen began producing 1.6-liter Volkswagen engines in Kaluga. Recently, an automobile company began to develop the Southeast market, due to which it increased sales.
Few people already remember, but one of the founders of the concern in 1933 was Adolf Hitler. But the project manager and developer of the first car of the company was Ferdinand Porsche.
7
Berkshire Hathaway. USA
Headquartered in Omaha, the holding company is run by the talented financier Warren Buffett.
Every year, an investment company only increases its momentum and constantly expands its sphere of interests.
Berkshire Hathaway's core business focuses on investing, insurance and reinsurance. The company employs 318 thousand people.
A record number of participants are going to shareholders meetings. For example, in 2007 the number of people gathered at the meeting was 27 thousand people.
6
Royal Dutch Shell. Netherlands - UK
Back in 1907, in order to create competition for the American Standard Oil, a large oil and gas corporation Royal Dutch Shell was created by the merger of the two companies.
Today, one of the most recognizable brands in the production of petroleum products, occupies a leading position in the world in terms of annual revenue.
Shell oil company is actively involved in charitable activities. $ 60 million is annually allocated for maintaining schools and medical infrastructure in Nigeria. In Europe, the company invests heavily in the development of solar power plants.
5
Exxon Mobil. USA
By the size of its market capital, the American oil company Exxon Mobil has long remained the largest in the world. Only in 2015, Apple surpassed them in this indicator.
In 1999, the merger of the two companies formed the Exxon Mobil company, retaining its subsidiaries in the name.
The corporation successfully carries out oil exploration and production in different regions of the world. The US energy giant also owns 30% of the Sakhalin 1 project to develop the subsoil of this Russian island.
4
Hon Hai Precision Industry. Taiwan
To the global consumer, this company is better known under the trade name Foxconn. Products with the brand of this company can be found in the best copies of electronic equipment from world manufacturers.
The company, founded in 1974, collaborates with such well-known manufacturers of electronic equipment as Canon, Apple, Sony, Microsoft.
In 2010, a Taiwanese company opened production in Russia. Of the recent high-profile shares, this is the purchase of 66% of the shares of Japanese manufacturer Sharp.
3
National Petroleum Corporation. China
The largest Chinese company CNPC has 1668072 employees. The main activity of the enterprise is oil and gas supplies to China.
Since its founding in 1988, CNPC has also been engaged in the search and development of oil and gas fields in China.
For a short period of existence, the Chinese company has taken a leading position in the global oil and gas market. The company is wholly owned by the state.
2
State Grid Corporation of China. China
The large grid company State Grid Corporation is a leader in this industry, not only in China but also in the world.
The company mainly specializes in the implementation of hydropower engineering projects on all continents of the planet, the construction and operation of electric networks.
In 2011, State Grid Corporation implemented a project to build infrastructure and power lines for importing electricity from Russia to China.
In 2016, the Chinese state-owned enterprise ranked second in the world in terms of revenue.
1
Walmart USA
The realtor company, which owns the largest retail chain in the world, was formed in 1962. During the period of existence, German and South Korean Walmart projects were closed, and in the early 2000s, the American company became the leader in world retail.
The revenue of the Walmart hypermarket chain and stores in 2016 amounted to $ 482.130 billion. In 2018, operating income was $ 22 billion.
In 2008, the company entered the Russian market. Today, Walmart has more than 11,300 stores in 27 countries, and the staff totals 2.2 million people.
Thus, according to these two indicators, Walmart is the largest company in the world.
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Conclusion
Considering large companies, it should be noted that according to the results of 2015, Russian companies were included in the Fortune Global 500 rating. So, Gazprom with revenue of $ 99.464 billion took 56th line. At 76 positions, with revenue of $ 84.677 billion was the Russian “Lukoil”. The leading Russian banks Sberbank and VTB are located in the third and fourth ten.
A study by Fortune, an American business magazine, shows that the largest companies have a combined annual revenue of about $ 27.6 trillion. In addition to the huge role in the economic development of the planet, these are also large employers. The companies employ millions of people in 33 countries of the world.
Many corporations invest money in the implementation of social programs and the development of economically weak regions of the planet.
Another area of activity was the financing of the development of new energy-saving technologies and programs for space exploration.
Article author: Valery Skiba