1. Walmart
What are the richest businesses in the world? With the rapidly growing global economy, there are many companies that make lots of money every year, but what are the top 10 richest businesses in the world? Many of these companies have been around for decades and will probably still be here long after we’re gone. For example, Coca-Cola has been around since 1886, making it one of the oldest businesses on the list. On the other hand, Facebook wasn’t founded until 2004, but it was able to shoot up through this list and gain billions of dollars as a result of its popularity among consumers.
1. Walmart
$469 billion - Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, Walmart Inc. (WMT) is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of big discount department stores and warehouse stores. It has more than 11,000 outlets in 28 countries, employing 2.2 million people worldwide. Walmart ranked No. 1 on Fortune’s list of America’s largest corporations by revenue for a record 27 years. The company operates under 63 different names worldwide.
2. Berkshire Hathaway
Led by Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company that includes more than 60 companies. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, it’s one of four superbrands among US companies. Last year, Forbes estimated its total worth at $562 billion.
3. Apple
Worth an estimated $750 billion, Apple has developed from a computer company into a full-blown tech giant. It’s one of only two companies to achieve a market capitalization greater than $700 billion. Its stock has been on fire for years, with shares hitting an all-time high of more than $135 in May 2015 before giving back some gains recently. Continued innovation and product diversification have helped Steve Jobs’ baby become as important to investors as it is to consumers.
4. Microsoft
Gates and Allen. According to Forbes, Microsoft’s net worth sits at $196 billion. This beast of a business shows no signs of slowing down; it's projects include developing Windows 10, Hololens and Surface computers—and they are all leading-edge technologies. Gates and Allen may be gone, but their company is still going strong more than 30 years later.
5. Google
With a $350 billion market cap, Google is far and away America’s richest business. Last year, investors valued it at more than $400 billion—the largest private company valuation in history. (Coke and Exxon have higher current market caps, but they’re public companies.) Google operates several businesses including Search, Ads, Gmail, Android, YouTube, Maps and others. Many of these services are available for free and don’t contribute directly to its bottom line.
6. Facebook
This beast business has a whopping 2.07 billion users in comparison to its closest rival, WhatsApp with 1.5 billion. Its parent company, Facebook, Inc., is based in California and was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, along with his college roommates and fellow computer geeks Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes.
7. Amazon
With a market cap of $74.4 billion, Amazon is more than just an online retailer—it’s also an entertainment conglomerate and a fast-growing cloud-computing business. It’s earned its spot among top businesses by giving consumers what they want: low prices, convenience, and lots of options. As competition continues to heat up in retail (Walmart) and cloud computing (Microsoft), it will be interesting to see how Amazon evolves over time.
8. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Ltd. (ICBC) is a Chinese bank and is the largest bank in China. Its headquarters are in Beijing, and its shares trade on both sides of the Pacific under ticker symbol ICBC on exchanges including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and New York Stock Exchange. ICBC provides a wide range of financial services to corporate, institutional, government and individual customers through more than 15,000 outlets worldwide.
9. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Chase boasts a market cap of $300.9 billion and is valued at $66.6 billion, placing it in line with other large investment banks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley. In terms of its business model, Chase serves as one of the world’s largest commercial banks. Its operations are divided into four major areas: Retail & Business Banking, Consumer & Community Banking, Corporate & Investment Bank and Treasury & Securities Services.
10. China Mobile Ltd.
As one of three operators in China, with more than 700 million customers and 70 million 4G subscribers, China Mobile Ltd. is a beast business. Its major competitors are China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and China Telecom Corp. Ltd., both of which rank below it in market cap—just another example of how big big really is. By revenue and market cap, it's ranked second in China after Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (No.