The World’s Largest Company: More Billions Than We Can Count

Did you know the top 2,000 companies in the world are responsible for $119 trillion in assets? That’s what Forbes magazine recently told us in a special report on the biggest companies in the world. A trillion has 12 zeros – twice as many as a million. Those companies account for $30 trillion in revenues, $2.4 trillion in profits and employ 72 million people around the world.
 
It’s true that we tend to hear a lot of news lately about a downward spiraling economy, but the fact is anybody with a good business plan and willingness to make it happen can become a successful business owner. The statistics don’t lie – the world still has plenty of opportunity for motivated entrepreneurs.

The biggest company in the world today is HSBC Holdings – a monster in the banking industry that calls itself “the world’s local bank”. The corporation boasts an international network with somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 offices in 83 countries and territories that service a multitude of financial needs.

The bank is headquartered in London, England and was established in 1991 to become the parent company to The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation when the transfer of sovereignty took place in Hong Kong. The bank has a large adversity to risk, which is part of the answer to why it holds such a huge percentage of the world’s wealth. According to the Forbes the last report for HSBC Holdings shows the following numbers (and the reason it’s at the top):

• Sales $146.50 billion
• Profits $19.13 billion
• Assets $2,348.98 billion
• Market value $180.81 billion

Just in case you were concerned about getting into a hot industry but don’t know anything about banking, the second biggest corporation in the world is General Electric, a conglomerate of companies. GE’s sales and profits were actually higher last year than those of HSBC, but they only own about 1/3 the assets. Remember this – the super companies started out on a small scale in the beginning and eventually became the empires that they are today. Don’t wait to launch a business or expand your current operation – there’s a lot of catching up to do if you want to make it to the top!