Fascinating Facts About The World’s 10 Largest Companies [Infographic]

At US$ 749 billion, Apple has annual revenues equal to the GDP of the Netherlands, a (rich) country with a population of 17 million people. Had he hung on to his cut in the company he co-founded with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne would have been entitled to shares worth US$75 billion today. Unfortunately for him, he sold his stake for $800 back in 1976.

There are 60 countries in the world whose population is smaller than the number of employees working at Berkshire Hathaway. Were it to house all its employees, it would need about one thousand 10-story apartment buildings.

Amazon, the “Everything Store”, isn’t the world’s largest retailer. Chinese B2B retailer Alibaba is, outselling Amazon and Ebay combined.

Six of the world’s ten largest companies by revenue is less than 23 years old. At 178 years of age, the oldest firm on the list is Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffet’s company is so old that, in at its founding, the scientific community was still a full 20 years away from learning that humans descended from primates.

Within the next 3-5 years, we will likely see the first ever trillion-dollar company, and considering the breakneck pace with which companies appear to grow out of nowhere these days, don’t be surprised if it’s not even in the top 10 yet.

Who knows, maybe it’s being founded right now. And maybe some poor fellow will his 10% stake in it for a couple hundred bucks next week.

Infographic Source: extra-passport.com