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Toyota Motor – US$272.6 Billion
The Toyota Motor corporation was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 and it’s the world’s second-largest automotive manufacturer.
Toyota is the 10th richest company in the world and has over 364,000 employees spread across the world.
This Japanese multi-national managed to hustle $272.6 billion US dollars into their coffers during their annual fiscal year.
They are headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan.
In terms of world-sales of hydrogen fuel-cell and hybrid electric vehicles…
Toyota is the market leader and it’s one of the biggest automotive manufacturers to embrace the mass-market endorsement of hybrid cars.
As of January 2017, with over 6 million worldwide sales of its Prius units…
Toyota’s Prius flagship models, are the number 1 top-selling hybrid vehicles in the world.
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Volkswagen – US$278.34 Billion
Volkswagen had its beginnings in Nazi-Germany…
Being founded by the Labour Front Party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, on the 28 May 1937.
Volkswagen is German for “the people’s car”
It’s Europe’s largest automaker with over 117,000 employees, located all around the world.
By raking in $278.34 billion US dollars during their fiscal year, Volkswagen now becomes the 9th richest company in the world.
The Volkswagen Group is a large multi-national company in control of major car and truck brands, that include;
Audi, Lamborghini, MAN, Bentley, Škoda, Scania, Porsche and Bugatti.
According to Wikipedia, “Volkswagen has factories in many parts of the world that manufacture or assemble vehicles for local markets.”
“In addition to having plants in Germany, the 9th richest company in the world also has manufacturing facilities in Mexico, the US, Slovakia, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and South Africa.”
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Exon Mobil – US$290.2 Billion
Exon Mobil, is an American multi-national oil and gas company.
It’s the largest remaining remnant of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company.
Exon Mobil Corporation managed to reap in an eye-watering revenue of $290.2 billion US dollars during their fiscal year, making them earn a spot on this list, as the 8th richest company in the world.
Exon Mobil, formed on November 30, 1999, is the result of the merger of two companies…
Exxon (formerly the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey) and Mobil (formerly the Standard Oil Company of New York).
Exxon Mobil is the largest oil refiner in the world, its 37 oil refineries spread across 21 countries, have a combined refining capacity of 6.3 million barrels a day!
As most giant oil and gas companies are plagued with controversies, the 8th richest company in the world is also no exemption.
On 9th January 2017, Exxon-Mobil was exposed conducting business with three US sanctioned countries; Iran, Syria and Sudan.
In April, the same year of 2017, Exxon-Mobil’s request to allow it to resume drilling in Russia was denied by Trump’s administration.
Later that same year in July, Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump’s administration, to dispute the findings that the company contravened sanctions enforced upon Russia.
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BP – US$303.7 Billion
BP, formerly known as The British Petroleum Company and BP Amoco, is an oil and gas company that has…
Over 18,000 service stations worldwide!
Its headquarters are located in London, England, and it’s the 7th richest company in the world.
BP’s annual revenue peaked in at $303.7 billion US dollars and it has operations in 70 countries across the globe…
Producing around 3.6 million barrels of oil a day!
BP is also involved in various oil and gas related industries, specifically: petrochemicals, refining, power generation, stock trading, distribution and marketing, exploration and production.
Having one of the worst safety records of any major oil company, BP is a regular patron of court rooms across the world.
In 2008, BP along with other major oil companies, paid $422 million to settle a class-action lawsuit for water contamination caused by a gasoline additive.
That fine is peanuts considering the fact that BP is the 7th richest company in the world and makes more than $300 billion US dollars a year.
In 2006, BP also paid a multi-million dollar out-of-court settlement to Colombian farmers, in compensation for environmental damaged caused by its Ocensa pipeline.
In 2013, Texas residents living near the BP refinery filed a $1 billion lawsuit against BP.
According to the report, “BP reportedly released Sulfur Dioxide, Methyl Carpaptan, Dimethyl Disulfide and other toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.”
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Saudi Aramco – US$355.9 Billion
Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabian Oil Company) is an oil and gas state-owned enterprise based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Aramco might not make it on next year’s list, as its biggest oil refining facility suffered a drone attack, that temporarily wiped out 50% of its output capacity.
It’s wholly owned by the government of Saudi Arabia and it’s the 6th richest company in the world.
It controls the 2nd largest crude oil reserves in the world and has over 65,000 employees.
It’s also the most profitable company in the world and it’s valued at $1.7 trillion US dollars since the launch of its IPO, which is the largest IPO on record.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had hoped for a US$2 trillion dollar valuation, but Aramco fell short of about US$300 billion, maybe next year they’ll reach their target.
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company manages over 100 oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia.
The oil and gas giant has ownership of both the world’s largest, onshore and offshore oil fields – the Ghawar Field and the Safaniya Field – respectively.
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State Grid Corporation of China – US$387 Billion
Having over 900,000 employees and 1.1 billion customers…
The State Grid Corporation of China…
Is the largest utility company in the world.
Founded in 2002, State Grid is a Chinese state-owned utility corporation that has complete monopoly in China.
It’s headquarters are located in Beijing and it’s the 5th richest company in the world.
Apart from conducting business in China, they also serve the following countries:
Australia, Brazil, Greece, Italy, Portugal and the Philippines.
The State Grid Corporation of China were the 1st in the world, to run a 1,000-kilovolt alternating current power line.
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China National Petroleum Corporation – US$392.98 Billion
The China National Petroleum Corporation, also known by its acronym (CNPC), is a Chinese national oil and gas company that earned $392.98 billion US dollars during their fiscal year…
This make them the 4th richest company in the world.
It had humble beginnings in the Communist government of China, as a governmental department.
But now, it’s one of the most prominent consolidated energy corporations in the world and its headquarters are located in Beijing.
After many American and European oil companies shut down operations in Iran following western sanctions, the China National Petroleum Corporation swiftly replaced the void and quickly began increasing its involvement in developing oil fields in Iran.
In May 2014, the CNPC signed a 30-year deal with Russia’s Gazprom, worth an estimated $400 billion.
To uphold its end of the bargain, Russia’s Gazprom has to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas, every year.
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Royal Dutch Shell – US$396.56 Billion
Royal Dutch Shell is one of the top oil and gas titans in the world.
They produce around 3.7 million barrels of oil per day…
And they have 44,000 service stations worldwide!
This British-Dutch multi-national has operations in over 70 countries and it’s the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas.
Considering the statistics listed above, it’s no wonder Shell is the 3rd richest company in the world – they managed to earn $396.56 billion US dollars during their fiscal year.
The headquarters of this UK incorporated company, is located in the Netherlands.
In 2013, Shell’s revenue was equivalent to 84% of Netherlands’ $556 billion GDP!
Shell is the largest European-based company, and they have a long history of health and safety violations.
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Sinopec Group – US$414.65 Billion
The China Petrochemical Corporation, also known as the Sinopec Group…
Is the largest oil and gas company in the world!
Sinopec is listed on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
This Chinese state-owned petrochemical conglomerate has its headquarters located in Beijing and it’s the 2nd richest company in the world.
Sinopec is involved in the exploration of crude oil and natural gas, within China.
They also produce a wide variety of petroleum based products, that include:
Chemical fertilizers, kerosene, synthetic rubber, gasoline, ethylene, jet fuel and diesel.
Taking into account the number of products they produce, it’s easy to see how the 2nd richest company in the world obtained an annual revenue of $414.65 billion US dollars, during their fiscal year.
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Walmart – US$514.4 Billion
Walmart Inc. is the largest company in the world, both in terms of revenue and number of employees.
It is the world’s biggest private employer, with 2.3 million employees worldwide!
Walmart is a family owned business founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and it’s the number one richest company in the world!
Today, the Waltons are the richest family in the world.
With a mind-numbing annual revenue of 514.4 billion US dollars, Walmart sits comfortably at number one, on this list of the top 10 richest companies in the world.
Walmart is an American retail corporation and its headquarters located in Bentonville, Arkansas.
They primarily run a chain of discount department stores, grocery stores and hypermarkets.
Walmart operates internationally under 59 different names and has 11,718 stores in 28 countries.
It also wholly owns and operates Sam’s Club retail warehouses.
Walmart is an unstoppable force and it will continue, to be the richest company in the world for quite a long time.
