It might not surprise you to learn that some of the world’s largest companies are family-owned businesses.
The Family 500 Index, created by the Center for Family Business at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, ranks the largest 500 family firms around the world.But did you know that half of the world’s 500 largest family-owned businesses are European, with only 24 percent being North American? And even fewer are from the more family-oriented countries of Asia?
The 2015 study found that 52 percent of the companies are public and 48 percent private. To be considered a family business in the study, the family had to control 50 percent of stock in private companies and 32 percent of the voting rights in public companies.
Retail and wholesale made up the largest portion of companies on the list – 18 percent – followed by diversified industrial products (17 percent) and consumer products (15 percent).
Together, the 500 family companies generate $6.5 trillion in sales and employ 21 million people. Interestingly, nearly half of the firms are fourth generation or older and the average firm age is 88 years (though that number is somewhat skewed by the Takenaka Corp. that was founded in 1610).
The largest family businesses on the Family 500 Index are:
| Family Business | Country | Emp. | Estab. | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.Wal-Mart Stores | USA | 2.2 M | 1962 | $476.3 B |
| 2. Volkswagen AG | Germany | 572,800 | 1937 | $261.6 B |
| 3. Berkshire Hathaway | USA | 330,745 | 1955 | $182.2 B |
| 4. EXOR SpA | Italy | 301,441 | 1927 | $151.1 B |
| 5. Ford Motor Co. | USA | 181,000 | 1903 | $146.9 B |
| 6. Cargill, Inc. | USA | 143,000 | 1865 | $136.7 B |
| 7. Koch Industries | USA | 100,000 | 1940 | $115 B |
| 8. BMW AG | Germany | 110,351 | 1916 | $101 B |
| 9. Schwartz Group | Germany | 335,000 | 1930 | $89.4 B |
| 10. Group Auchan | France | 302,500 | 1961 | $85.5 B |
Most of the top ten family businesses are conglomerates of many different businesses. Three of the top 10 are automobile companies (Volkswagen, Ford and BMW), three are retail sales (Wal-Mart, Schwartz Group and Group Auchan), two are investment-based (Berkshire Hathaway and EXOR SpA), one is food and agriculture (Cargill) and one is oil and manufacturing (Koch).