 As a fun project, we thought it’d be interesting to look at the Fortune 100 companies as of 2006 and find out how each of them got their initial business financing. It was a much longer process than we expected it to be given the amount of research required, but it was really enlightening to see how many were founded via unconventional start-up methods (i.e. using a personal credit card, proceeds from timber, etc). Many of the corporate histories and company folklore involve spin-offs, mergers, and in some cases actual VC money (especially in this digital age), but each story is intriguing on its own. In the case of mergers, we tried to use the oldest unit for the financing used.
The piece that really stood out to us though was how absolutely dominate some industries were on this list. Oil makes up 3 of the top 10 revenue earners? Big cars that use that oil make up 2 of the other 7, so half of the top 10 revenue producers are either oil companies or companies that fuel big oil growth.
What do you think this list is going to look like 50 years from now? Will it be dominated by oil, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications? Or, will it be biotechnology, diversified finance, Google, or heck…even Apple?
Please comment here on the industries you think will be the biggest here:
Discuss this post on Digg.
|
Rank |
Company |
2006 Revenue ($ US Billions) |
History and Finance |
|
1 |
ExxonMobil |
339,938.0 |
Merger between Jersey Standard and Socony, both previous pieces of the Standard Oil empire, controlled by John D Rockefeller. That company was formed by John, his brother, Flagler, Andrews, and Harkness. |
|
2 |
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc |
315,654.0 |
Sam and Helen Walton put up 95% of their own money for their first store. |
|
3 |
Chevron |
198,200.0 |
Initially California Star Oil Works, founders Taylor and Scofield brought on investors to raise $1 Million, incorporating as Pacific Coast Oil Company. |
|
4 |
General Motors |
192,604.0 |
Olds Motor Vehicle Company launches by Ransom E Olds with $50,000 in capital (5,000 shares of stock at $10/share). |
|
5 |
Ford Motor |
177,210.0 |
Henry Ford launched his company with $28,000 from twelve investors. |
|
6 |
ConocoPhillips |
166,683.0 |
A merger between Conoco and Phillips Petroleum. Conoco began as Continental Oil and Transportation company; it was acquired for 2,317,266 shares of stock by Maryland Oil, which eventually changed its name to Conoco. |
|
7 |
General Electric |
157,153.0 |
Initially Edison General Electric Company, various pieces merged in 1892 by financier JP Morgan. |
|
8 |
Citigroup |
131,045.0 |
A merger between Citicorp and Travelers Insurance; Citicorp began as City Bank of New York in 1812, the first US Postmaster General. |
|
9 |
American Intl. Group (AIG) |
108,905.0 |
AIG was founded in 1919 by Starr, selling insurance to the Chinese, presumably with his own money. |
|
10 |
Intl. Business Machines (IBM) |
91,134.0 |
Founded as the Tabulating Machine Company in 1888, it was backed by Hollerith’s personal holdings. |
|
11 |
Hewlett-Packard |
86,696.0 |
Started by Bill Hewlett and David Packard with $538 in cash. |
|
12 |
Bank of America Corp. |
83,980.0 |
Starting as the American Bank of Italy by Amadeo Giannini with initial deposits of $8,780. |
|
13 |
Berkshire Hathaway |
81,663.0 |
Though currently a holding company for famed investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, the company started as Hathaway Manufacturing Company in 1889. |
|
14 |
Home Depot |
81,511.0 |
Founded in 1978, its financing was arranged by Kenneth Langone. |
|
15 |
Valero Energy |
81,362.0 |
Founded in 1980 as a spin-off of Coastal States Gas Corporation, established in 1955 by Oscar Wyatt. |
|
16 |
McKesson |
80,514.6 |
Initially created as Olcott and McKesson in 1833, run from a small shop in NYC’s financial district. |
|
17 |
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. |
79,902.0 |
The oldest unit, New York Chemical Manufacturing Company, started in 1823, initially serving New York’s mercantile industry. |
|
18 |
Verizon Communications |
75,111.9 |
Formed by the acquisition of GTE by Bell Atlantic; Bell was a survivor of the AT&T breakup, which was founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875. Bell was backed by Boston lawyer Gardiner Hubbard. |
|
19 |
Cardinal Health |
74,915.1 |
Founded in 1971 as Cardinal Foods by Robert Walter, as the result of a leveraged buyout on the small Ohio food wholesaler. |
|
20 |
Altria Group |
69,148.0 |
First incorporated under Philip Morris in 1847, operating as a single shop on London’s Bond Street. |
|
21 |
Statoil |
65.500.0 |
Founded by the government of Norway in 1972, it clearly had a financial leg up. |
|
22 |
Kroger |
60,552.9 |
Established in 1883 by Barney Kroger, using his own money. Had it happened 100 years later, it would warm our hearts to think that might have been a personal credit card. |
|
23 |
State Farm Insurance Cos |
59,223.9 |
Founded in 1922 by George Mecherle on the concept of saving money for farmers on their auto insurance. |
|
24 |
Marathon Oil |
58,958.0 |
Started as The Ohio Oil Company in 1887, it was purchased by the Standard Oil trust, breaking out of the trust in 1911. |
|
25 |
Procter & Gamble |
56,741.0 |
Founded in 1827 by William Procter and James Gamble putting in $3,596.47 apiece. What a ROI!!! |
|
26 |
Dell |
55,908.0 |
Michael Dell started this growth company in 1984 as PC’s Limited, with $1000. He was in college at the time, so can we assume that he signed up for a free t-shirt, got a credit card, and then used it to start Dell? It makes us feel better. |
|
27 |
Boeing |
54,848.0 |
Established in 1916 by William Boeing and George Westervelt; Boeing likely used the funds from his timberland to fund the start-up. |
|
28 |
AmerisourceBergen |
54,589.6 |
A merger in 2001 between Amerisource and Bergen Brunswig. Amerisource got its start as Alco Standard by millionaire Tinkham Veale. |
|
29 |
Costco Wholesale |
52,935.2 |
My favorite place to buy 20 lb cans of olives opened in 1983 by James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman, who modeled their operations after retailing genius Sol Price. |
|
30 |
Target |
52,620.0 |
George Dayton founded this now hip retail chain in 1903 as Dayton Dry Goods Company; it was financed by a former store owner retiring and selling his interest to Dayton. |
|
31 |
Morgan Stanley |
52,498.0 |
Founded in 1935 by Henry Morgan and Harold Stanley due to a split on commercial and investment banking a la the Glass-Steagall act. |
|
32 |
Pfizer |
51,353.0 |
Two cousins, Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhardt, established this company in 1849. |
|
33 |
Johnson & Johnson |
50,514.0 |
Three brothers, Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson, formed this firm in 1885. |
|
34 |
Sears Holdings |
49,124.0 |
Started in 1886 as a catalog sales firm by Richard Sears, after successfully selling watches as a station agent. Since his investment was roughly $12/watch, it could be the cheapest startup cost we’ve ever seen. |
|
35 |
Merrill Lynch |
47,783.0 |
Founded in 1914 by Charles Merrill, quickly becoming a financial powerhouse. |
|
36 |
MetLife |
46,983.0 |
Established in 1868 as a mutual company as a life insurance underwriter. |
|
37 |
Dow Chemical |
46,307.0 |
Incorporated in 1897 by Herbert Dow as a means to sell bleach. |
|
38 |
UnitedHealth Group |
45,365.0 |
Starting in 1977 as UnitedHealthCare Corporation through the think-tank doc Dr. Paul Ellwood and businessman Richard Burke – this was the first HMO. |
|
39 |
Wellpoint |
45,136.0 |
A merger between Anthem and Wellpoint Health Networks, this largest insurer can trace its roots back to American General Insurance, founded in 1926. It was one of the first multiple-line insurance companies. |
|
40 |
AT&T |
43,862.0 |
All the Bell stories come back to the beginning. AT&T was founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875. Bell was backed by Boston lawyer Gardiner Hubbard. |
|
41 |
Time Warner |
43,652.0 |
Scandal! That’s how Time Warner started in 1972 as a result of Kinney National Company spinning off non-entertainment assets. |
|
42 |
Goldman Sachs Group |
43,391.0 |
Golden sacks is more like it. Marcus Goldman started the firm in 1869, and was among the first using commercial paper to help bring companies to market (IPO). |
|
43 |
Lowe's |
43,243.0 |
Started as a single hardware store in 1946 by H Carl Buchan, focusing on selling hard to find building materials and only dealing with manufacturers in order to get the lowest prices possible. |
|
44 |
United Technologies |
42,725.0 |
Making sure the elevator goes to the top, this firm was established in 1867 by the sons of inventor Elisha Otis as Otis Brothers & Co. |
|
45 |
United Parcel Service |
42,581.0 |
Brown did a lot for Jim Casey when he started this company in 1907 as American Messenger Company, borrowing $100 from a friend. We’ll pretend that’s like using an advance on a credit card. |
|
46 |
Walgreens |
42,201.6 |
Initially just as much of a place to get an ice cream soda as to get some vitamins, Charles Walgreen started this company in 1901. |
|
47 |
Wells Fargo |
40,407.0 |
Henry Well and William Fargo took their knowledge of American Express with them to start Wells Fargo & Company in 1852. |
|
48 |
Albertson's |
40,397.0 |
Joe Albertson founded this firm in 1939 using $5,000 of his own money and $7,500 borrowed from his wife’s aunt. |
|
49 |
Microsoft |
39,788.0 |
Bill Gates, Paul Allen, 1975. Need we really say more? |
|
50 |
Intel |
38,826.0 |
Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce in 1968 established Intel after leaving Fairchild Semiconductor. |
|
51 |
Safeway |
38,416.0 |
Though formed in 1926 as a merger between Skaggs and Sam Seelig Company, the roots trace back to 1915. It was a cash only store at the time though. L |
|
52 |
Medco Health Solutions |
37,870.9 |
A spin-off of Merck, it can therefore trace its roots back to 1668 as a single drug store in Darmstadt. |
|
53 |
Lockheed Martin |
37,213.0 |
A merger between Lockheed and Martin Marietta. Lockheed was formed in 1926 by Allan Loughead. A group of investors bought Lockheed during the Great Depression for only $40,000. |
|
54 |
CVS |
37,006.2 |
Founded initially as Melville Shoe Company in 1922 by Ward Melville. |
|
55 |
Motorola |
36,843.0 |
Established first as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928, producing a device that allowed battery-operated radios to run on an electrical outlet. |
|
56 |
Caterpillar |
36,339.0 |
Founded in 1904 by Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt, experimenting with steam-driven tractors. |
|
57 |
Archer Daniels Midland |
35,943.8 |
Established in 1902 by George Archer and John Daniels as a licensed crushing company. |
|
58 |
Wachovia Corp. |
35,908.0 |
The result of a merger between Wachovia Corp and First Union Corp, Wachovia was first established in 1879 by William Lemly. |
|
59 |
Allstate |
35,383.0 |
Created in 1931 as a part of Sears, Roebuck, and Company. Its financial history is therefore tied to #34. |
|
60 |
Sprint Nextel |
34,680.0 |
A merger between Sprint and Nextel, Sprint was founded in 1899 by Cleyson Brown, under the name Brown Telephone Company; its name changed after emerging from bankruptcy in 1938. |
|
61 |
Caremark Rx |
32,991.3 |
Founded in 1993 by HealthSouth Corp and their former CEO, Richard Scrushy; Scrushy had founded HealthSouth in 1984 by pooling $50,000 with the help of some friends. |
|
62 |
PepsiCo |
32,562.0 |
The taste of a new generation began in 1898 by Caleb Bradham. The store where Caleb first produced Pepsi wasn’t even paid with in money, but on credit and a smile. On credit? That makes us smile. |
|
63 |
Lehman Brothers |
32,420.0 |
Established first as a dry goods stores that found itself in a secondary market for cotton in 1844 by Henry, Emanuel and Meyer Lehman (yeah, they were brothers). The younger brothers later helped to establish the New York Cotton Exchange in 1870. |
|
64 |
Walt Disney |
31,944.0 |
In 1923 the magic began with the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, founded by Walt and Roy Disney and animator Ub Iwerks. Walt started the dream for Walt Disney with $40 in his pocket. |
|
65 |
Prudential Financial |
31,708.0 |
John Dryden founded this firm in 1875 as Friendly Assurance Company. Early policy holders of Prudential insurance paid only 3 cents a week. |
|
66 |
Plains All Amer. Pipeline |
31,177.3 |
Founded in 1993 as a master limited partnership building the Cushing Terminal. |
|
67 |
Sunoco |
31,176.0 |
Initially the Peoples Natural Gas Company in 1886 by Joseph Pew and Edward Emerson. They paid $4500 for their two oil leases near Lima, Ohio. |
|
68 |
Northrop Grumman |
30,721.0 |
It was created in 1994 when Northrop purchased Grumman. Northrop was founded in 1927 by Jack Northrop, initially as Avion Corp. After selling the first company and working for the successors, he established another Northrop in 1939. |
|
69 |
Sysco |
30,281.9 |
In 1969 John Baugh convinced 9 food distributors to merge: Zero Foods, Frost-Pack Distributing Co, Global Frozen Foods, Houston’s Food Service Co, Louisville Grocery Co, Plantation Foods, Texas Wholesale Grocery Co, Thomas Foods, and Wicker. |
|
70 |
American Express |
30,080.0 |
Founded in 1850 by Henry Wells, William Fargo, and James Butterfield, Amex has a shared history with #47. |
|
71 |
FedEx |
29,363.0 |
Fred Smith founded this firm in 1971 with $91Million in venture capital money and a $4Million inheritance. |
|
72 |
Honeywell Intl. |
28,862.0 |
Mark Honeywell in 1906 established this firm, merged it with Minneapolis Heat Regulator Co, and has virtually controlled the closed loop thermostat business since. |
|
73 |
Ingram Micro |
28,808.3 |
A spin-off from Ingram Industries in 1979, named for the Ingram family. |
|
74 |
DuPont |
28,491.0 |
Founded in 1802 by Eleuthere du Pont, manufacturing gunpowder. He raised capital for his firm by briefly returning to France in 1801. |
|
75 |
New York Life Insurance |
28,051.0 |
Established in 1845 as the Nautilus Insurance Company with $17,000 in assets by James Ogden. |
|
76 |
Johnson Controls |
28,019.5 |
Professor Warren Johnson in 1885 brought Johnson Controls to life with the first electric thermostat with the help of a group of Milwaukee investors. |
|
77 |
Best Buy |
27,433.0 |
Richard Shulze in 1966 opened an audio specialty store; he made the best out of local disasters, truly taking to the meaning of tornado sales and fire sales. |
|
78 |
Delphi |
27,201.0 |
A spin-off from General Motors in 1999, it has a shared history with #4. |
|
79 |
Hartford Financial Services |
27,083.0 |
Founded in 1810 in Hartford Connecticut (what a nice coincidence). |
|
80 |
Alcoa |
26,601.0 |
Established in 1886 by Charles Hall, teaming up with Pittsburg metallurgist Alfred Hunt. |
|
81 |
Tyson Foods |
26,014.0 |
Founded by John Tyson in 1935 with the purchase of 50 chickens that he intended to raise and resell. |
|
82 |
TIAA-CREF |
25,916.8 |
Retired professors everywhere owe Andrew Carnegie who in 1918 setup the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It was endowed initially with $1Million. |
|
83 |
International Paper |
25,797.0 |
Formed in 1898 through the consolidation of 17 different pulp and paper mills. |
|
84 |
Cisco Systems |
24,801.0 |
Married couple Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner routed their passion into business in 1984 while they were both graduate students at Stanford. |
|
85 |
HCA |
24,455.0 |
The Frist family’s fortune was first generated by founding this firm in 1968. |
|
86 |
St. Paul Travelers Cos. |
24,365.0 |
The merger between St Paul Companies and Travelers Property Casualty Corp. St Paul Companies was established in 1853. |
|
87 |
News Corp. |
23,859.0 |
Media titan Rupert Murdoch started News Corp in 1980 from assets received from a 1952 inheritance. |
|
88 |
Federated Dept. Stores |
23,347.0 |
Started in 1929 as a holding company for Abraham & Straus, F&R Lazarus & Company, and William Filene’s Sons. Abraham & Straus was opened in 1865 by Abraham Abraham and Joseph Wechsler, each of whom put in $5000. |
|
89 |
Amerada Hess |
23,255.0 |
Created in 1919 as a holding company for Amerada Petroleum Company by Lord Cowdray. |
|
90 |
Coca-Cola |
23,104.0 |
Starting as a French Wine Cocoa by John Stith Pemberton who invented its predecessor in 1884. Of course, he sold the rights to manufacturer the stimulant twice near the end of his life. Doh! |
|
91 |
Weyerhaeuser |
23,000.0 |
Founded in 1900 by Friedrich Weyerhaeuser by the purchase of 900,000 acres of timber from J.J. Hill. |
|
92 |
Aetna |
22,885.0 |
Formerly Aetna Insurance Company, a company that issued its first policy in 1850, 30 years after it was established. The late start didn’t hurt though, given its current financial status. |
|
93 |
Mass. Mutual Life Ins. |
22,798.8 |
Established in 1851 by George Rice in sparse room consisting of a table, 3 chairs, and a city map. He could have used a shiny new credit card back then. |
|
94 |
Abbott Laboratories |
22,337.8 |
Wallace Abbott started his namesake in 1888, pioneering modern pharmacy through alkaloid pills. |
|
95 |
Comcast |
22,255.0 |
Started in 1963 by Ralph Roberts, Daniel Aaron, and Julian Brodsky with the purchase of a 1200 subscriber cable system. |
|
96 |
Merck |
22,011.9 |
Tracing its history to 1668 drugstore owner Friedrich Merck. It shares its history with #52. |
|
97 |
Deere |
21,930.5 |
In 1842, Dear John letters took a double meaning with the founding of Deere by John Deere with partner Leonard Andrus. |
|
98 |
Raytheon |
21,894.0 |
Established in 1922 as the American Appliance Company by Laurence Marshall, Vannevar Bush, and Charles Smith. Financial backers were arranged for the production of a home refrigerator. |
|
99 |
Nationwide |
21,832.0 |
On your side since 1925, first as the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company; it incorporated with 1,000 policyholders. |
|
100 |
Washington Mutual |
21,326.0 |
Started as the Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association in 1889; it made its first home loan for $700, or the price of a grande cappuccino. |
Thanks!
Carey Farnsworth
Team Yourcreditnetwork
|