Stories are known for hundreds of examples of how a small family business grew to the size of large companies with millions of dollars in turnover. True, today many well-known brands have changed owners, who have owned them for 100 or more years. So, once family businesses were Tissot, Chopard and Adidas.
Our today's Top 5 contains the most successful family companieswhose owners manage to maintain control over the business.
5. Est? E Lauder Companies Inc
This American company is the world's most famous cosmetics manufacturer and the owner of brands such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, M • A • C, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, American Beauty. The company was founded in 1946 by Este Lauder, who has been at the helm of the business for almost 50 years.
Today the Lauder family owns more than 83% of the company's shares. Est? E Lauder Companies Inc. is an employer for 32 thousand people, and the company's annual profit exceeds $ 210 million.
4. Siemens AG
The transnational concern is one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronics, transport, power equipment, lighting equipment. The company's shares are included in the base for calculating such important stock indices as DAX, S&P, Dow Jones.
The founder of the company in 1847 was the German engineer Werner Siemens, who was financially supported by his cousin Johann Georg Siemens. The heirs of Werner Siemens turned his grandfather's company into a powerful corporation, represented in 190 countries. Today Siemens employs 405 thousand people.
3. Ford Motor Co
The American automobile company is included in the Fortune 500 and Global 500 ratings. The company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford, who became famous for being the first to use the conveyor in the process of assembling cars.
For over 100 years, Ford Motor Co has been owned by the Ford family. Ford employs 350,000 people and has annual revenues of over $ 160 billion.
2. Walmart Stores
The American retail company operates the world's largest retail chain under the Walmart brand. The company is owned by the Walton family, and the founder's son, Robson Walton, is chairman of the board.
The Walmart network includes more than 10 thousand stores in 27 countries. The company's annual profit is over $ 200 billion. The total number of employees is over 2 million people.
1. Samsung Group
One of the world's largest concerns traces its history back to a rice flour workshop, opened in the 1930s by a Korean Lee Ben Chol. There is a legend that Lee Ben found money to start a business on the ruins of a burnt house.
Samsung means "three stars" in translation. It is believed that the company was named after Lee Byung Chol's three sons, the youngest of whom, Lee Kun Hee, has long been the head of the family business. Despite his resignation, Lee Kun-hee is the owner of a large share of the company, as well as the richest man in South Korea.
Today, the Samsung Group has an annual turnover of over $ 200 billion.