Top 50 Mnc Companies In The World 1758x

50 COMPANIES THAT

CHANGED

THE

WORLD.

Incisive Profiles of the 50 Organizations, Large & small, that has Shaped the Course of Modern Business

- HOWARD ROTHMAN

1. Microsoft Corporation

Fact File:  Founders: William H. Gates III and Paul Allen  Distinction: Created the Systems that drive nearly all the world’s PCs.  Primary Products: Computer Software and Internet Services.  Annual Sales: $22.956 billion.  Number of Employees: 31,400.  Major competitors: American Online, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems.  Chairman and Chief Software Architect: William H. gates III;  President & CEO: Steven A. Ballmer.  Headquarters: Redmond, Wash.  Year founded: 1975.  Website: www.microsoft.com

2. AT&T Corporation

Fact File:  Founders: Alexander graham Bell, Gardiner Hubbard & Thomas Sanders.  Distinction: Launched the Telecommunication revolution.  Primary Products: Telephone Services, Internet access, cable television.  Annual Sales: $62.391 billion.  Number of Employees: 148,000  Major competitors: America Online, MCI WorldCom, and Sprint.  Chairman & CEO: C. Michael Armstrong.  Headquarters: New York.  Year founded: 1877.  Website: www.att.com

3.

Ford Motor Company

Fact File:  Founders: Henry Ford, Alexander Malcomson, John W. Anderson, C. H. Bennett, James Couzens, Horace E. Dodge, John F. Dodge, Vernon C. Fry, John S. Gray, Horace H. Rackham, Albert Strelow & Charles J. Woodall  Distinction: Completely transformed the process of manufacturing.  Primary Products: Cars, Trucks and Auto Finance.  Annual Sales: $162.558 billion.  Number of Employees: 364,550.  Major competitors: Daimler Chrysler, General Motors, Toyota.  Chairman: William C. Ford Jr;  President and CEO: Jacques A. Nasser.  Headquarters: Dearborn, Mich.  Year founded: 1903  Website: www.ford.com

4. Apple Computer

Fact File:  Founders: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak & Mike Markkula.  Distinction: Brought computing to people.  Primary Products: PC, peripherals, multimedia tools.  Number of Employees: 9,376.  Annual Sales: $6.134 billion  Major competitors: Compaq, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems.  CEO: Steve Jobs.  Headquarters: Cupertino, Calif.  Year founded: 1976.  Website: www.apple.com

5. McDonald’s Corporation

Fact File:  Founders: Richard & Maurice McDonald & Ray Kroc.  Distinction: Global fast-food revolution.  Primary Products: Burgers, chicken nuggets, fries and shakes.  Number of Employees: 284,000 in U.S. alone  Annual Sales: $35.9 billion.  Major competitors: Pizza Hut, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell.  Chairman & CEO: Jack Greenberg.  Headquarters: Oak Brook, Illinois.  Year founded: 1955.  Website: www.mcdonalds.com

6. America Online Inc.

Fact File:  Founder: Steven M. Case.  Distinction: Opened Cyberspace to masses worldwide.  Primary Products: Internet access, online content and related software.  Number of Employees: 12,100.  Annual Sales: $6.886 billion.  Major competitors: AT&T, Microsoft, and Yahoo!  Chairman & CEO: Steven M. Case.  Headquarters: Dulles, VA.  Year founded: 1991.  Website: www.aol.com

7. FedEx Corporation

Fact File:  Founder: Fredrick W. Smith.  Distinction: Created the next-day delivery industry.  Primary business: Worldwide express delivery of packages & documents.  Number of Employees: 141,000.  Annual Sales: $16.774 billion.  Major competitors: DHL, UPS, U.S. Postal Service.  Chairman, President & CEO: Fredrick W. Smith.  Headquarters: Memphis, Tenn.  Year founded: 1971.  Website: www.fedex.com

8.CBS Corporation

Fact File:  Founder: William S. Paley.  Distinction: made television journalism respectable and influential.  Primary Products: TV and Radio programming.  Number of Employees: 28,900.  Annual Sales: $7.373 billion.  Major competitors: ABC, Fox Entertainment, NBC.  Chairman: David McLaughlin;  President & CEO: Mel Karmazin.  Headquarters: New York  Year founded: 1927.  Website: www.cbs.com

9. Philip Morris Companies

Fact File:  Founder: Philip Morris  Distinction: Made cigarettes popular; now struggling b’coz of them.  Primary Products: Cigarettes, beer and food products.  Number of Employees: 137,100  Annual Sales: $78.596 billion.  Major competitors: Anhe-Busch, British American Tobacco and Nestle.  Chairman & CEO: Geoffrey C. Bible.  Headquarters: New York.  Year founded: 1919  Website: www.philipmorris.com

10.Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Fact File:  Founder: Sam Walton.  Distinction: Parlayed retailing innovations into worldwide dominance.  Primary Products: Softgoods, hardgoods, electronics, groceries.  Number of Employees: 1,140,000.  Annual Sales: $165.013 billion.  Major competitors: Kmart, Target, Costco Wholesale.  Chairman: Sam Walton.  President & CEO: H. Lee Scott Jr.  Headquarters: Bentonville.

 Year founded: 1962.  Website: www.wal-mart.com

11. General Electric Company

Fact File:  Founder: Thomas A. Edison.  Distinction: It lit up our lives.  Primary Products: Electric equipment, home appliances, jet engines, financial services, broadcasting.  Number of Employees: 340,000.  Annual Sales: $110.832 billion.  Major competitors: Matsushita, Rolls Royce, Siemens.  Chairman & CEO: John F. Welch Jr.  Headquarters: Fairfield, Conn.

 Year founded: 1892.  Website: www.ge.com

12. IBM Corporation

Fact File:  Founder: Thomas Watson Sr.  Distinction: the king of technology throughout the technology age.  Primary Products: Computer hardware, software, peripherals, service.  Number of Employees: 307,401  Annual Sales: $87.548 billion.  Major competitors:  Chairman & CEO: Louis V. Gerstner Jr.  Headquarters: Armonk, N.Y.  Year founded: 1911.

 Website: www.ibm.com

13. Sears, Roebuck, and Co.

Fact File:  Founders: Richard Sears & Alvah C. Roebuck  Distinction: World’s first mass-retailing network.  Primary Products: Apparel, home fashions, appliances, home improvement products, Lawn and garden equipment.  Number of Employees: 324,000  Annual Sales: $41.071 billion.  Major competitors: Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney.  Chairman, President & CEO: Alan Lacey.

 Headquarters: Hoffman Estates.  Year founded: 1886.  Website: www.sears.com

14. General Motors

Fact File:  Founder: William Durant.  Distinction: World’s No. 1 automaker & largest company in of sales.  Primary Products: Cars, Trucks & related products.  Number of Employees: 388,000  Annual Sales: $176.558 billion.  Major competitors: Daimler Crysler, Ford, Toyota.  Chairman: John F. Smith Jr.

 President & CEO: G. Richard Wagoner Jr.  Headquarters: Detroit, Mich.  Year founded: 1908  Website: www.gm.com

15. J.P.Morgan & Company.

Fact File:  Founder: J.P.Morgan  Distinction: Preserved & expanded the American Financial System.  Primary Products: Commercial banking & investment services.  Number of Employees: 15,152  Annual Sales: $ 18.110 billion.  Major competitors: Deutsche bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch.  Chairman & CEO: Douglas A. “Sandy” Warner III  Headquarters: New York

 Year founded: 1854  Website: www.jpmorgan.com

16. Union Pacific Corporation.

Fact File:

 Founders: Oakes Ames, Oliver Ames & Thomas C. Durant.  Distinction: Helped bridge east and west with first transcontinental road.  Primary Products: Transportation services by train and truck.  Number of Employees: 52,000  Annual Sales: $11.273 billion.  Major competitors: Burlington Northern, Santa Fe, FedEx, Norfolk Southern.

 Chairman President & CEO: Richard Davidson.  Headquarters: Omaha, Neb  Year founded: 1862  Website: www.up.com

17. RCA Corporation. Fact File:  Founders: Thomas A. Edison, Elihu Thomson & Edwin Houston.  Distinction: Brought radio, then television, into American homes.  Primary Products: Televisions, camcorders, other consumer electronics.  Number of Employees: 22,800.  Annual Sales: $4.5 billion  Major competitors: Matsushita, Philips Electronics.  Chairman & CEO: S.A Thomson and Thomson Multimedia: Thierry Breton.  Headquarters: Indianapolis, Ind.

 Year founded: 1960.  Website: www.rca.com

18. Nike Inc.

Fact File:  Founders: Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight.  Distinction: Made the sports shoe a cultural icon.  Primary Products: Athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories.  Number of Employees: 20,700.  Annual Sales: $8.777 billion.  Major competitors: Adidas-Salomon, Fila, Reebok.  Chairman & CEO: Philip Knight.

 Headquarters: Beaverton  Year founded: 1962.  Website: www.nike.com

19. Intel Corporation.

Fact File:  Founders: Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.  Distinction: Invented microprocessor, paving way for computer revolution.  Primary Products: Computer chips, networking and communications gear.  Number of Employees: 70,200  Annual Sales: $29.389 billion.  Major competitors: Advanced micro Devices, IBM, and Motorola.  Chairman Emeritus: Gordon Moore.

 Chairman: Andrew S. Grove;  President & CEO: Craig R. Barett.  Headquarters: Santa Clara, Ca.  Year founded: 1968.  Website: www.intel.com

20. Cable News Network.

Fact File:  Founder: Ted Turner.  Distinction: World’s first live, 24*7 television network.  Primary Products: TV, Radio, Internet news program  Number of Employees: 4,000.  Annual Sales: Unavailable  Major competitors: CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC.

 Chairman President & CEO: W. Thomas Johnson.  Headquarters: Atlanta, Ga.  Year founded: 1980.  Website: www.cnn.com

21. The Boeing Company

Fact File:  Founders: William E. Boeing.  Distinction: Evolved with aviation industry from biplanes to Lunar Orbiters.  Primary Products: Commercial & military aircrafts, rockets, satellites.  Number of Employees: 197,100  Annual Sales: $57.993 billion.  Major competitors: Airbus Industries, EADS, and Lockheed Martin.

 Chairman & CEO: Philip M. Condit;  President & COO: Harry Stonecipher.  Headquarters: Seattle  Year founded: 1916.  Website: www.boeing.com

22.Hewlett-Packard Co.

Fact File:  Founders: Bill Hewlett & David Packard.  Distinction: Leader in technology & the business world that produces it.  Primary Products: PC’s, Printing and imaging products.  Number of Employees: 84,400  Annual Sales: $42.370 billion.

 Major competitors: Compaq, IBM, Xerox.  Chairman President & CEO: Carleton S. “Carly” Fiorina.  Headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif.  Year founded: 1939  Website: www.hp.com

23. Standard Oil Company.

Fact File:  Founders: John D. Rockefeller, Samuel Andrews & Henry M. Flagler  Distinction: World’s largest oil refiner before dismantling by the Supreme Court.  Primary Products: Kerosene, fuel, lubricant.  Major competitors: None.  Founder & President: John D. Rockefeller

 Founding location: Cleveland, Ohio.  Market Value B4 dissolution: $100 million.  Years in existence: 1870-1911.

24. Sony Corporation.

Fact File:  Founders: Ibuka Masaru and Morita Akio.  Distinction: Remade the global consumer electronics marketplace.  Primary Products: Electronic devices, movies, TV shows, recorded music.  Number of Employees: 189,700  Annual Sales: $63.082 billion.

 Major competitors: Matsushita, Philips Electronics, Time Warner.  Chairman & CEO: Nobuyuki Idei;  President: Kunitake Ando  Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan  Year founded: 1946.  Website: www.world.sony.com

25. USX-U.S. Steel Group

Fact File:  Founders: Elbert H. Gary and J. Pierpont Morgan.  Distinction: When launched, it was the largest business enterprise of all time.  Primary Products: Sheet, tubular, plate and semi finished steel.  Number of Employees: 19266.

 Annual Sales: $ 5.380 billion.  Major competitors: Bethlehem Steel, LTV and Nucor.  Chairman & CEO, USX: Thomas J. Usher;  President, US Steel Group: Paul J. Wilhelm.  Headquarters: Pittsburgh.  Year founded: 1901.  Website: www.ussteel.com

26. Agence -Presse. Fact File:  Founder: Charles-Louis Haves.  Distinction: World’s oldest international news agency.  Primary Products: Words, photos and graphics for client media worldwide.  Annual Sales: $227.7 million.

 Number of Employees: 1,998.  Major competitors: Associated Press, Reuters and United Press International.  President & CEO: Eric Giuily;  Deputy Chief Executive/ Managing Editor: Denis Brulet.  Headquarters: Paris  Year founded: 1835  Website: www.afp.com.

27. Levitt & Sons

Fact File:  Founders: William & Alfred Levitt.  Distinction: Created 20th Century American suburbia.  Primary Products: Small, Low cost houses for the masses.

 Total Production: More than 140000 houses all over the world.  Founder: William Levitt  Headquarters: Levittown.  Year founded: 1929-1968.  Value when sold: Company sold to ITT in 1968 for $92 million.

28. Walt Disney Company

Fact File:  Founder: Walt Elias Disney.  Distinction: Family Entertainment.

 Primary Products: Movies, Videos, Television, software, resort properties.  Annual Sales: $23.402 billion.  Number of Employees: 117,000  Major competitors: Fox Entertainment, Time Warner & Viacom.  Chairman & CEO: Michael D. Eisner;  Headquarters: Burbank.  Year founded: 1923.  Website: www.disney.go.com

29. Netscape Communications.

Fact File:  Founders: James Clark & Marc Andreessen.

 Distinction: Rewrote rules for net navigation and IPO’s.  Primary Products: Internet browser, Web Portal, online development tools.  Annual Sales: $447.8 million.  Number of Employees: 2,936.  Major competitors: Lycos, Microsoft, Yahoo!  Vice President & GM, Netscape Net center: Jim Martin  Headquarters: Mountain View.  Year founded: 1994  Website: www.netscape.com

30. The Coca-Cola Company

Fact File:

 Founder: Dr. John Stith Pemberton.  Distinction: Made soft drinks a global obsession.  Primary Products: Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid.  Annual Sales: $19.805 billion.  Number of Employees: 37,400.  Major competitors: Cadbury Schweppes, PepsiCo, Quaker Oats.  Chairman & CEO: Douglas N. Draft  Headquarters: Atlanta  Year founded: 1886  Website: www.cocacola.com

31. Thyssen Krupp AG

Fact File:

 Founder: Friedrich Krupp.  Distinction: Helped finance, and arm, the Nazi regime in World War II.  Primary Products: Metal Fabrication, Industrial plants, automotive parts  Annual Sales: $ 29.749 billion.  Number of Employees: 116,174.  Major competitors: Mannesmann AG, Rpbert Bosch, Usinor.  Chairman (Automotive): Gerhard Cromme;  Chairman (Steel): Ekkehard Schulz;  Headquarters: Dusseldorf,  Year founded: 1810.  Website: www.thyssenkrupp.com/eng/index.html.

32. Procter & Gamble Co.

Fact File:

 Founders: William Procter and James Gamble.  Distinction: made name in soaps, invented soap operas to promote them.  Primary Products: Cleaning, paper, beauty, food, health-care items.  Annual Sales: $ 38.125 billion.  Number of Employees: 110,000.  Major competitors:Johnson & Johnson, Kimberley-Clark, Unilever.  Chairman: John Pepper;  President & CEO: Alan G. Lafley.  Headquarters: Cincinnati, Ohio.  Year founded: 1837.  Website: www.pg.com

33. Yahoo! Inc.

Fact File:  Founders: David Filo and Jerry Yang.  Distinction: Original online search engine.  Primary Products: Web directory, chat, shopping, community functions.  Annual Sales: $ 588.6 million.  Number of Employees: 2,711  Major competitors: America Online, Microsoft, Lycos.  Chairman & CEO: Timothy Koogle.  Headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif.  Year founded: 1994.  Website: www.yahoo.com

34. Toyota Motor Company.

Fact File:  Founder: Sakichi Toyoda.  Distinction: Revolutionized automobile production for the global age.  Primary Products: Cars, pickups, minivans and SUVs.  Annual Sales: $ 105.832 billion.  Number of Employees: 183,879.  Major competitors: Daimler Chrysler, Ford, General Motors.  Chairman: Hiroshi Okuda;  President: Fujio Cho.  Headquarters: Toyota City, Japan.  Year founded: 1937.  Website: www.toyota.com

35. People Express Airlines.

Fact File:  Founder: Donald Burr.  Distinction: Made air travel affordable.  Primary Products: No-frills, cut-rate airline flights.  Annual Sales: $ 1 billion at peak.  Number of Employees: 3,500 at peak.  Major competitors: American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines.  Headquarters: Newark, New Jersey.  Years in existence: 1981-1986.

36. Manpower Inc.

Fact File:  Founders: Elmer Winter and Aaron Scheinfeld.  Distinction: Made “temp” an indelible part of the corporate vocabulary.  Primary Products: Temporary workers for assorted positions worldwide.  Annual Sales: $ 9.770 billion.  Number of Employees: 2,016,000.  Major competitors: Adecco, Randstad Holding, Vedior.  Chairman: John R. Walter;  President & CEO: Jeffrey A. Joerres.  Headquarters: Milwaukee, Wis.  Year founded: 1948.  Website: www.manpower.com

37. Toys “R” Us.

Fact File:

 Founder: Charles Lazarus.  Distinction: Invented the toy supermarket and “carpet-killer” concepts.  Primary Products: Toys, games, sporting goods, software, kids’ furniture.  Annual Sales: $ 11.862 billion.  Number of Employees: 76,000.  Major competitors: eToys, Kmart, Wal-Mart.  Chairman: Michael Goldstein;  President & CEO: John H. Eyler Jr.  Headquarters: Paramus, N.J.  Year founded: 1978.  Website: www.toysrus.com

38. National Football League.

Fact File:  Founders: Ralph Hay, George “Papa Bear” Halas, Jim Thorpe and others.  Distinction: Reshaped professional sports and associated business:  Primary business: Overseas individual franchises, general merchandising and marketing.  Annual Sales: $ 3.27 billion.  Number of Employees: 150  Major competitors: major League Baseball, MBA, and National Hockey League.  Commissioner: Paul J. Tagliabue;  President and COO: Neil Austrian.  Headquarters: New York  Year founded: 1920  Website: www.nfl.com

39. Kellogg Company.

Fact File:  Founder: Will Keith (W.K) Kellogg.  Distinction: Invented and popularized toasted grain-based foods.  Primary Products: Breakfast cereals and other grain-based foods.  Annual Sales: $ 6.8 billion.  Number of Employees: 14,500  Major competitors: General Mills, Kraft foods, Quaker Oats  President & CEO: Carlos Gutierrez.  Headquarters: Battle Creek, Mich.  Year founded: 1906.  Website: www.kelloggs.com

40. Johnson Publishing Company.

Fact File:  Founder: John H. Johnson.  Distinction: World’s largest black-owned publishing company.  Primary Products: magazines, books, cosmetics and traveling fashion show.  Annual Sales: $371.9 million.  Number of Employees: 2,647  Major competitors: BET, Essence Communications and L’Oreal.  Chairman Publisher & CEO: John H. Johnson.  Headquarters: Chicago, Ill.  Year founded: 1942.  Website: www.ebony.com

41. Firestone Tire & Rubber.

Fact File:  Founder: Harvey Samuel firestone.  Distinction: Developed the first pneumatic automobile tire.  Primary business: Manufacturing and selling vehicle tires.  Annual Sales: $7.4 billion.  Number of Employees: 45,000  Major competitors: Cooper Tire & Rubber, Goodyear and Michelin.  Chairman & CEO: John Lampe;  President: Kenji Shibata.  Headquarters: Nashville, Tenn.  Year founded: 1900.  Website: www.bridgestone.com

42. Avon Products Inc.

Fact File:  Founders: David McConnell and Mrs. P. F.E. Albee.  Distinction: Created one of the first woman-friendly work environments.  Primary Products: Beauty products, fragrances.  Annual Sales: $5.289 billion.  Number of Employees: 33,900  Major competitors: L’Oreal, Mary Kay, Revlon.  Chairman: Stanley C. Gault.  President & CEO: Andrea Jung.  Headquarters: New York.  Year founded: 1886.  Website: www.avon.com.

43. Hilton Hotels Corporation.

Fact File:  Founder: Conrad N. Hilton.  Distinction: Developed the first coast-to-coast hotel chain.  Primary Products: Hotels, resorts and time-share properties.  Annual Sales: $1.769 billion.  Number of Employees: 45,000  Major competitors: Accor, Marriott, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.  Chairman: Barron Hilton  President & CEO: Stephen F. Bollenbach.  Headquarters: Beverly Hills.  Year founded: 1919  Website: www.hilton.com

44. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade.

Fact File:  Founders: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.  Distinction: Successfully combined business and social activism.  Primary Products: Ice cream, frozen yogurt and related products.  Annual Sales: $237 million.  Number of Employees: 751  Major competitors: Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, TCBY Enterprises,  President & CEO: Yves Couette.  Headquarters: South Burlington  Year founded: 1978.  Website: www.benjerry.com

45. RE / MAX International

Fact File:  Founder: Dave Liniger.  Distinction: Created the first global agent friendly real estate network.  Primary Business: Real Estate Sales on six continents.  Annual Sales: $1 million in U.S. alone.  Number of Employees: 58,000  Major competitors: Century 21, Coldwell Banker.  Chairman: Dave Liniger  CEO: Gail Liniger  Headquarters: Englewood, Co.  Year founded: 1973.  Website: www.remax.com

46. The Singer Company N.V.

Fact File:  Founders: Issac merit Singer.  Distinction: Made it easier to produce professional-looking apparel at home.  Primary Products: Sewing machines and other consumer appliances.  Annual Sales: $1.263 billion.  Number of Employees: 18,000  Major competitors: Brother international, Electrolux AB, Hirsch.  Chairman: James H. Ting;  President & CEO: Stephen H. Goodman.  Headquarters: Curacao, Netherlands  Year founded: 1851.  Website: www.singerco.com

47. The Shorebank Corp.

Fact File:  Founders: Ronald Grzywinski, Mary Houghton, James Fletcher  Distinction: Nation’s oldest and largest community development bank.  Primary Products: Financial services for businesses and individuals.  Annual Sales: $991.297 million.  Number of Employees: 337  Major competitors: Louisville Community Development Bank, Vermont National bank, Wainwright Bank & Trust Company.  President & CEO: Margaret A. Cheap.  Headquarters: Chicago, Ill  Year founded: 1973

 Website: www.sbk.com

48. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Fact File:  Founders: Marcus Loew and Louis B. Mayer.  Distinction: Epitomized Hollywood and America during 1920’s and 1930’s.  Primary Products: Theatrical films, television shows, home video, licenced products.  Annual Sales: $1.2 billion.  Number of Employees: 870  Major competitors: Sony Pictures, Time Warner Walt Disney Company  Chairman & CEO: Alex Yemenidjian  Headquarters: Santa Monica  Year founded: 1924

 Website: www.mgm.com

49. L.L.Bean.

Fact File:  Founder: Leon Leonwood Bean.  Distinction: Pioneered mail-order retailing.  Primary Products: Outdoor gear, clothing, shoes, luggage.  Annual Sales: $1.07 billion.  Number of Employees: 4,000  Major competitors: REI, Lands’ End, Spiegel, The Gap.  President & CEO: Leon A. Gorman.  Headquarters: Freeport, Maine.  Year founded: 1912  Website: www.llbean.com

50. H.J.Heinz Company

Fact File:  Founders: Henry John Heinz and John Noble.  Distinction: Made ketchup a household name.  Primary Products: Condiments, tuna, soup, frozen foods, baby food.  Annual Sales: $9.3 billion.  Number of Employees: 40,500  Major competitors: Bestfoods, Campbell Soup, ConAgra, Del Monte, Nestle.  President & CEO: William R. Johnson.  Headquarters: Pittsburgh  Year founded: 1869  Website: www.heinz.com