How the World's 100 Biggest Companies Started
What it cost to start each of the 100 most valuable public companies, from a sold camper van to a state-backed joint venture.
Showing 100 of 100 companies · $62.60tn combined · median founding year 1962
| # | Company | Value | How it started |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AppleUSA | $5.10tn | 1976Tiny start: ~$1,300Jobs sold his VW van, Wozniak his calculator; built in a garage |
| 2 | NVIDIAUSA | $4.31tn | 1993Small start: ~$40kThree founders' own money, planned in a Denny's; $20m VC followed |
| 3 | MicrosoftUSA | $4.05tn | 1975Tiny start: A few thousand $Gates and Allen wrote BASIC for the Altair before owning one |
| 4 | Alphabet (Google)USA | $3.52tn | 1998Small start: $100kAndy Bechtolsheim's cheque to Page and Brin; a garage in Menlo Park |
| 5 | AmazonUSA | $2.89tn | 1994Small start: ~$10k, then ~$250kBezos's savings, then his parents' investment; started selling books from a garage |
| 6 | TSMCTaiwan | $2.02tn | 1987Not a startup: ~$220mJoint venture of the Taiwan government and Philips, led by Morris Chang |
| 7 | SpaceXUSA | $1.93tn | 2002Big start: $100mElon Musk's own money from the PayPal sale; first three rockets failed |
| 8 | Saudi AramcoSaudi Arabia | $1.68tn | 1933Not a startup: Oil concessionBegan as a Standard Oil of California concession; fully state-owned by 1980 |
| 9 | Meta (Facebook)USA | $1.64tn | 2004Tiny start: ~$1k eachZuckerberg and Saverin chipped in from a Harvard dorm; Thiel added $500k |
| 10 | BroadcomUSA | $1.53tn | 1961Not a startup: $2.6bn buyoutToday's firm is HP's old chip unit (Avago), bought out by KKR and Silver Lake |
| 11 | TeslaUSA | $1.49tn | 2003Big start: $6.5m (Series A)Founded by Eberhard and Tarpenning; Musk led the first big round |
| 12 | Eli LillyUSA | $1.26tn | 1876Tiny start: ~$1,400A Civil War veteran pharmacist with three employees in Indianapolis |
| 13 | Berkshire HathawayUSA | $1.23tn | 1956Small start: $105kBuffett's partnership: $100 of his own plus family and friends' money |
| 14 | WalmartUSA | $997bn | 1945Small start: $25kSam Walton's $5k plus a $20k loan from his father-in-law for one variety store |
| 15 | SamsungSouth Korea | $972bn | 1938Small start: 30,000 wonA small trading company selling dried fish, noodles and fruit |
| 16 | JPMorgan ChaseUSA | $908bn | 1799Not a startup: $2m (1799)Roots in Aaron Burr's Manhattan Company; built by a long chain of mergers |
| 17 | AMDUSA | $834bn | 1969Big start: ~$1.5mJerry Sanders and seven others left Fairchild Semiconductor |
| 18 | MicronUSA | $830bn | 1978Small start: Small seed roundFour engineers in a dentist's basement in Boise, backed by local businessmen |
| 19 | VisaUSA | $788bn | 1958Not a startup: Bank projectBank of America mailed 60,000 credit cards in Fresno; spun off later |
| 20 | Johnson & JohnsonUSA | $679bn | 1886Tiny start: SmallThree brothers and 14 staff in a former wallpaper factory |
| 21 | Exxon MobilUSA | $672bn | 1870Big start: $1mRockefeller's Standard Oil; he started earlier in produce with about $4k |
| 22 | SK HynixSouth Korea | $641bn | 1983Not a startup: Conglomerate unitStarted as Hyundai Electronics; later merged and sold to SK Group |
| 23 | ASMLNetherlands | $583bn | 1984Not a startup: Joint venturePhilips and ASM International; 47 staff in a shed next to a Philips building |
| 24 | MastercardUSA | $571bn | 1966Not a startup: Bank consortiumA group of banks formed it to compete with BankAmericard (Visa) |
| 25 | AbbVieUSA | $518bn | 2013Not a startup: Spin-offSplit out of Abbott, which began in a doctor's apartment in 1888 |
| 26 | TencentChina | $480bn | 1998Small start: ~500k yuan (~$60k)Pony Ma and four friends; the QQ messenger nearly got sold for under $1m |
| 27 | China Construction BankChina | $476bn | 1954Not a startup: StateCreated by the Chinese state to fund construction projects |
| 28 | CostcoUSA | $473bn | 1983Big start: ~$7.5mJim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman raised money for the first Seattle warehouse |
| 29 | CXMTChina | $424bn | 2016Not a startup: State-backedMemory-chip maker funded heavily by the Hefei city government |
| 30 | Coca-ColaUSA | $413bn | 1886Tiny start: ~$2,300Asa Candler paid about that to buy the formula from pharmacist John Pemberton |
| 31 | ChevronUSA | $411bn | 1879Not a startup: BreakupPacific Coast Oil, later Standard Oil of California after the 1911 breakup |
| 32 | PalantirUSA | $408bn | 2003Big start: ~$30mPeter Thiel's money plus $2m from the CIA's venture fund |
| 33 | RocheSwitzerland | $396bn | 1896Small start: Family moneyFritz Hoffmann-La Roche, backed by his family's trading fortune |
| 34 | Procter & GambleUSA | $390bn | 1837Tiny start: ~$7,200A candle maker and a soap maker, brothers-in-law, pooled their savings |
| 35 | CiscoUSA | $389bn | 1984Tiny start: Credit cardsBosack and Lerner ran it from their living room on credit cards |
| 36 | Agricultural Bank of ChinaChina | $388bn | 1951Not a startup: StateState bank for rural China |
| 37 | OracleUSA | $374bn | 1977Tiny start: $2,000Ellison put in $1,200; first big customer was the CIA |
| 38 | MerckUSA | $367bn | 1891Not a startup: SubsidiaryUS arm of a German pharmacy dating to 1668; seized in WWI and made independent |
| 39 | ICBCChina | $363bn | 1984Not a startup: StateSplit off from China's central bank |
| 40 | UnitedHealthUSA | $356bn | 1974Small start: SmallRichard Burke set up a company to run a Minnesota HMO |
| 41 | Home DepotUSA | $353bn | 1978Big start: ~$2mFired from Handy Dan, Marcus and Blank were backed by Ken Langone |
| 42 | Bank of AmericaUSA | $349bn | 1904Small start: $150kAmadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy, lending to immigrants in San Francisco |
| 43 | General ElectricUSA | $348bn | 1892Not a startup: MergerJ.P. Morgan merged Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston |
| 44 | Bank of ChinaChina | $338bn | 1912Not a startup: StateFounded as the national bank of the new Republic of China |
| 45 | IntelUSA | $316bn | 1968Big start: $3mNoyce and Moore put in $500k; Arthur Rock raised $2.5m in an afternoon |
| 46 | NovartisSwitzerland | $309bn | 1996Not a startup: MergerMerger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz |
| 47 | HSBCUK | $309bn | 1865Big start: HK$5mScottish banker Thomas Sutherland, funding trade between China and Europe |
| 48 | Philip MorrisUSA | $301bn | 1847Tiny start: One shopPhilip Morris's tobacco shop on Bond Street in London |
| 49 | Applied MaterialsUSA | $294bn | 1967Small start: SmallMichael McNeilly started it in Mountain View |
| 50 | AstraZenecaUK | $294bn | 1999Not a startup: MergerMerger of Sweden's Astra and Britain's Zeneca (spun out of ICI) |
| 51 | Morgan StanleyUSA | $292bn | 1935Not a startup: Spin-offPartners left J.P. Morgan after new laws split banking |
| 52 | Royal Bank of CanadaCanada | $283bn | 1864Small start: Merchant groupMerchants' Bank of Halifax, started by local traders |
| 53 | ShellUK | $280bn | 1833Tiny start: One shopMarcus Samuel's London shop selling seashells, later oil shipping |
| 54 | Lam ResearchUSA | $277bn | 1980Small start: SmallDavid Lam started it to build chip-etching machines |
| 55 | CaterpillarUSA | $274bn | 1925Not a startup: MergerRival tractor makers Holt and Best merged |
| 56 | SAPGermany | $274bn | 1972Tiny start: First client paidFive ex-IBM engineers; worked on their first customer's computers at night |
| 57 | Palo Alto NetworksUSA | $271bn | 2005Big start: VC-backedNir Zuk, backed by venture capital |
| 58 | Kweichow MoutaiChina | $271bn | 1951Not a startup: StateState merger of three family distilleries in Maotai town |
| 59 | Texas InstrumentsUSA | $270bn | 1930Small start: SmallGeophysical Service Inc., using sound waves to find oil |
| 60 | NestléSwitzerland | $269bn | 1866Tiny start: SmallPharmacist Henri Nestlé's baby food, merged with Anglo-Swiss in 1905 |
| 61 | L'OréalFrance | $268bn | 1909Tiny start: Kitchen labChemist Eugène Schueller made hair dye at home and sold it to Paris salons |
| 62 | Thermo FisherUSA | $267bn | 1956Small start: $50kGeorge Hatsopoulos's Thermo Electron, later merged with Fisher Scientific |
| 63 | RTXUSA | $265bn | 1922Not a startup: MergerRaytheon (started 1922) merged with United Technologies in 2020 |
| 64 | NetflixUSA | $263bn | 1997Big start: $2.5mReed Hastings funded it to post DVDs; offered itself to Blockbuster for $50m |
| 65 | AlibabaChina | $262bn | 1999Small start: $60kJack Ma and 17 friends pooled savings in his Hangzhou apartment |
| 66 | Goldman SachsUSA | $261bn | 1869Tiny start: One manMarcus Goldman traded IOUs, carrying them in his hat |
| 67 | ToyotaJapan | $257bn | 1937Not a startup: £100k from a patentSpun out of a loom maker; seed money came from selling a loom patent to a UK firm |
| 68 | Wells FargoUSA | $257bn | 1852Big start: $300kHenry Wells and William Fargo, serving the California Gold Rush |
| 69 | AmgenUSA | $252bn | 1980Big start: $19mVenture-capital-backed biotech with a handful of scientists |
| 70 | Mitsubishi UFJJapan | $244bn | 2005Not a startup: MergerBank merger; Mitsubishi itself began as Iwasaki Yataro's shipping firm in 1870 |
| 71 | PetroChinaChina | $239bn | 1999Not a startup: StateListed arm of the state's China National Petroleum Corp |
| 72 | LindeUK | $239bn | 1879Small start: SmallEngineer Carl von Linde's refrigeration company |
| 73 | Arista NetworksUSA | $235bn | 2004Big start: Founder-fundedBechtolsheim and Cheriton funded it themselves; no VC |
| 74 | CrowdStrikeUSA | $234bn | 2011Big start: $25mKurtz and Alperovitch, backed by Warburg Pincus |
| 75 | SiemensGermany | $233bn | 1847Tiny start: ~6,800 thalersWerner von Siemens's workshop in a Berlin backyard, funded by a cousin |
| 76 | IBMUSA | $233bn | 1911Not a startup: MergerCharles Flint merged four firms (scales, clocks, punch cards) into CTR |
| 77 | China MobileChina | $225bn | 1997Not a startup: StateSplit out of the state telecom monopoly |
| 78 | LVMHFrance | $222bn | 1987Not a startup: MergerLouis Vuitton (a trunk maker since 1854) merged with Moët Hennessy |
| 79 | DellUSA | $220bn | 1984Tiny start: $1,000Michael Dell upgraded PCs in his university dorm room |
| 80 | GE VernovaUSA | $220bn | 2024Not a startup: Spin-offGE's power and wind business, spun off as its own company |
| 81 | American ExpressUSA | $218bn | 1850Not a startup: MergerHenry Wells, William Fargo and others merged express-delivery firms |
| 82 | BHPAustralia | $211bn | 1885Tiny start: 7-man syndicateSeven men pooled small sums to mine Broken Hill |
| 83 | Gilead SciencesUSA | $210bn | 1987Big start: $2mMichael Riordan, backed by Menlo Ventures |
| 84 | Inditex (Zara)Spain | $209bn | 1963Tiny start: TinyAmancio Ortega began with a small workshop making bathrobes |
| 85 | Walt DisneyUSA | $206bn | 1923Tiny start: $500Walt and Roy borrowed from their uncle and worked in a garage |
| 86 | Toronto-Dominion BankCanada | $203bn | 1855Not a startup: MergerBank of Toronto (1855) merged with Dominion Bank in 1955 |
| 87 | CitigroupUSA | $202bn | 1812Big start: $2mCity Bank of New York, started by merchants |
| 88 | Arm HoldingsUK | $199bn | 1990Not a startup: Joint ventureAcorn, Apple and VLSI; 12 engineers in a barn near Cambridge |
| 89 | AmphenolUSA | $199bn | 1932Tiny start: TinyArthur Schmitt began making radio-tube sockets in a Chicago basement |
| 90 | McDonald'sUSA | $199bn | 1940Tiny start: ~$5kThe McDonald brothers' drive-in; Ray Kroc franchised it from 1955 |
| 91 | Commonwealth BankAustralia | $198bn | 1911Not a startup: StateFounded by the Australian government |
| 92 | KLAUSA | $197bn | 1975Small start: Venture-backedKen Levy and Bob Anderson built machines to check chip templates; merged with Tencor in 1997 |
| 93 | MediaTekTaiwan | $197bn | 1997Not a startup: Spin-offMing-Kai Tsai's multimedia chip unit, spun off from UMC |
| 94 | ShopifyCanada | $196bn | 2006Small start: SmallBuilt to run Tobi Lütke's online snowboard shop |
| 95 | AllianzGermany | $195bn | 1890Big start: 4m marksCarl Thieme and Wilhelm Finck's insurance company |
| 96 | PepsiCoUSA | $193bn | 1898Tiny start: One pharmacyPharmacist Caleb Bradham's drink, later merged with Frito-Lay |
| 97 | TotalEnergiesFrance | $193bn | 1924Not a startup: StateCreated by the French state as Compagnie Française des Pétroles |
| 98 | AbbottUSA | $191bn | 1888Tiny start: TinyDr Wallace Abbott made pills in his Chicago apartment |
| 99 | Analog DevicesUSA | $191bn | 1965Small start: $100k in stockTwo MIT classmates sold their basement start-up for stock, then borrowed against it |
| 100 | International Holding CoUAE | $191bn | 1998Not a startup: State-linkedAbu Dhabi investment group linked to the ruling family |
Tiny start: under about $10k.
Small: $10k to $1m.
Big: $1m or more.
Not a startup: began as a state body, a merger or a spin-off.
Market caps are a snapshot and change daily. Starting costs are approximate, in the money of the day, and often based on founders’ recollections.
Market values as of 10 November 2026.
Sources: market values from CompaniesMarketCap, founding stories from each company’s published history.
