Fortune Global 500
The Fortune Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by Fortune magazine.
Methodology
Until 1989, it listed only non-US industrial corporations under the title "International 500" while the Fortune 500 contained and still contains exclusively US corporations. In 1990, U.S. companies were added to compile a truly global list of top industrial corporations as ranked by sales. Since 1995, the list has had its current form, listing also top financial corporations and service providers by revenue.
Controversy
Several inconsistencies exist in Fortune's ranking of cities with the most Fortune 500 headquarters. On June 3, 2011, the Atlanta Business Chronicle stated examples of Fortune including regional headquarters for some cities, not including regional headquarters for other cities, and in some cases, not including headquarters that are physically located inside a city limit.[1]
Geographical distribution
Since 2001, there has been a significant change in the geographical distribution of the companies in the Global 500 rankings. The number of North American-based companies decreased from 215 in 2001 to 145 in 2017, and the contribution of Asian-based companies increased rapidly from 116 in 2001 to 197 in 2017. Most of this growth is accounted for by the rapid increase in the number of Chinese Global 500 companies, of which there were 109 by 2017 (the number becomes 115 if Taiwan is included), increasing from only 10 in 2001. The share of European-based companies also reduced, from 158 to 143, over the same period.[2][3][4]
Fortune Global 500 list of year 2017
Breakdown by country
As of July 2017, this is the list of the top 10 countries with the most Global 500 companies.[5]
| Rank | Country | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  USA | 132 |
| 2 |  China | 109 |
| 3 |  Japan | 51 |
| 4 |  France | 29 |
| 4 |  Germany | 29 |
| 6 |  United Kingdom † | 23 |
| 7 |  South Korea | 15 |
| 8 |  Switzerland | 14 |
| 8 |  Netherlands † | 14 |
| 10 |  Canada | 11 |
† The Global 500 includes Royal Dutch Shell under the heading "Britain/Netherlands". That company is counted in the tally for both countries.
As can be seen from the table above, 427 (85.4%) of the Global 500 are represented by only 10 countries: two in North America (Canada, USA), five in Western Europe (France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK), and three in East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea). Of these 10 countries, the top six are the world's largest economies as estimated by the IMF (List of countries by GDP (nominal)). According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2015, the adult citizens of these six countries own approximately 49% of the world's household wealth.
See also
References
- ↑ Maria Saporta. "Some cities rankings are overstated". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ↑ "A New Perspective on the Corporate World". CNN Money, Fortune Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "Visualize The Global 500". Fortune.
- ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/40-of-fortune-500-companies-asian-india-has-7-in-list/articleshow/59707630.cms
- ↑ "Global 500 2017". Fortune. Number of companies data taken from the "Country" box.