Table 1 The World's 100 Largest Capitalist Enterprises of 1912 ranked by Equity Market Capitalization Peter Wardley (UWE, Bristol: 17 July 2006) Rank Company Equity Market Head Office / SIC Capitalization, m. Activity Location (1) Major Economic Activity code 1 United States Steel Corporation 160.0 USA Coal, Iron, & Steel 2 & 6 2 Canadian Pacific Railway Company 136.0 Canada Transport - Rail 22 3 Pennsylvania Railroad Company 129.4 USA Transport - Rail 22 4 Midland Railway 104.2 UK Transport - Rail 22 5 London & North Western Railway 102.9 UK Transport - Rail 22 6 American Telephone & Telegraph 101.5 USA Telecommunications 22 7 Suez Canal Company 97.4 France / Egypt Transport - Canal 22 8 Union Pacific Railroad 92.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 9 Great Western Railway 91.6 UK Transport - Rail 22 10 Standard Oil (NJ) 80.6 USA Petroleum 4 11 North Eastern Railway 65.1 UK Transport - Rail 22 12 Northern Pacific Railway 63.9 USA Transport - Rail 22 13 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 62.8 USA Transport - Rail 22 14 Coats (J.& P.) 62.3 UK Textiles - Cotton Thread 13 15 Southern Pacific Company 61.4 USA Transport - Rail 22 16 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway 60.1 USA Transport - Rail 22 17 Great Northern Railway (USA) 58.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 18 New York Central & Hudson River Railroad 57.2 USA Transport - Rail 22 19 New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad 49.7 USA Transport - Rail 22 20 Delaware, Lackawana & Western Railroad 49.0 USA Transport - Rail 22 21 Chicago & North Western Railway 46.2 USA Transport - Rail 22 22 Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 43.0 UK Transport - Rail 22 23 Royal Dutch-Shell Transport & Trading Group 42.1 Netherlands & UK Petroleum 4 24 Buenos Ayres Great Southern Railway 42.1 UK / Argentina Transport - Rail 22 25 Interborough Rapid Transit Co. 41.8 USA Transport - Rail 22 26 Pullman 41.1 USA Engineering - Transport Equipment 11 27 Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean (Chemins de fer) 40.0 France Transport - Rail 22 28 Caledonian Railway 39.1 UK Transport - Rail 22 Peter Wardley (UWE, Bristol: 17 July 2006)
Table 1 (Cont.) The World's Largest Capitalist Enterprises of 1912 ranked by Equity Market Capitalization Rank Company Equity Market Head Office / SIC Capitalization, m. Activity Location # Major Economic Activity code 29 Great Northern Railway (UK) 39.1 UK Transport - Rail 22 30 Central Argentine Railway 37.1 UK / Argentina Transport - Rail 22 31 Reading Company 37.0 USA Transport - Rail 22 32 De Beers Consolidated Mines 36.6 South Africa Mining - Diamonds 2 33 Anaconda [Amalgamated Copper] 36.5 USA Mining - Non-ferrous Metals 2 34 British-American Tobacco 36.4 UK FD&T - Tobacco Manufacture 3 35 London & South Western Railway 36.3 UK Transport - Rail 22 36 North British Railway 36.2 UK Transport - Rail 22 37 General Electric 35.7 USA Engineering - Electrical 9 38 Singer 35.5 USA Engineering - Instrument 8 39 American Tobacco 34.7 USA FD&T - Tobacco Manufacture 3 40 Nord (Chemins de fer) 34.6 France Transport - Rail 22 41 Bank of England 33.7 UK Finance 24 42 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 33.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 43 Banque de France 32.3 France Finance 24 44 Paris à Orleans (Comp. Chemins de fer de) 31.5 France Transport - Rail 22 45 Illinois Central Railroad 31.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 46 Crédit Lyonnais 31.2 France Finance 24 47 Great Eastern Railway 30.7 UK Transport - Rail 22 48 Rio Tinto 30.4 UK / Spain Mining - Non-ferrous Metals 2 49 International Harvester 30.3 USA Engineering - Agricultural 7 50 Norfolk & Western Railway 28.4 USA Transport - Rail 22 51 Eastman Kodak 26.3 USA Engineering - Instrument 8 52 Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada 26.2 Canada Transport - Rail 22 53 London Brighton & South Coast Railway 26.1 UK Transport - Rail 22 54 Erie Railroad 25.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 55 Bank of Spain 25.3 Spain Finance 24 Peter Wardley (UWE, Bristol: 17 July 2006)
Table 1 (Cont.) The World's Largest Capitalist Enterprises of 1912 ranked by Equity Market Capitalization Company Equity Market Head Office / SIC Rank Capitalization, m. Activity Location # Major Economic Activity code 56 Deutsche Bank 25.3 Germany Finance 24 57 South Eastern Railway 25.0 UK Transport - Rail 22 58 Gas Light & Coke 23.5 UK Utility - Gas 21 59 Louisville & Nashville Railroad 23.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 60 Imperial Tobacco 23.2 UK FD&T - Tobacco Manufacture 3 61 Buenos Ayres Western Railway 22.4 UK / Argentina Transport - Rail 22 62 American Sugar Refining 22.4 USA FD&T - Food 3 63 Guinness (Arthur) & Sons 22.4 UK FD&T - Alcoholic Beverage 3 64 Great Central Railway 22.3 UK Transport - Rail 22 65 Eastern of France (Chemins de fer de l'est) 21.5 France Transport - Rail 22 66 Lehigh Valley Railroad 21.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 67 Delaware & Hudson Railroad 20.8 USA Transport - Rail 22 68 Phelps Dodge 19.8 USA Mining - Non-ferrous Metals 2 69 Utah Copper 19.4 USA Mining - Non-ferrous Metals 2 70 Mines de Lens 19.3 France Coal 2 71 Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) 19.1 Germany Engineering - Electrical 9 72 American Smelting 19.0 USA Mining - Non-ferrous Metals 2 73 Du Pont (E.I. Du Pont de Nemours Powder) 18.5 USA Chemicals - Explosives & Paints 5 74 Southern Railway Company 18.3 USA Transport - Rail 22 75 Disconto-Gesellchaft 18.3 Germany Finance 24 76 Standard Oil (California) 18.1 USA Petroleum 4 77 Mines de Bruay 17.9 France Coal 2 78 Lever Brothers 17.9 UK Chemicals - Household & Foodstuffs 5 79 Gelsenkirchener 17.7 Germany Mining - Coal 2 80 US Rubber 17.4 USA Engineering - Transport Equipment 11 81 Sears, Roebuck 16.9 USA Distribution 23 82 Crédit Foncier de France 16.4 France Finance 24 Peter Wardley (UWE, Bristol: 17 July 2006)
Table 1 (Cont.) The World's Largest Capitalist Enterprises of 1912 ranked by Equity Market Capitalization Rank Company Equity Market Head Office / SIC Capitalization, m. Activity Location # Major Economic Activity code 83 Swift 16.0 USA FD&T - Food & distribution 3 84 Rock Island Company 15.9 USA Transport - Rail 22 85 Comptoir National d'escompte 15.7 France Finance 24 86 Dresdner Bank 15.2 Germany Finance 24 87 Woolworth (F.W.) 15.1 USA Distribution 23 88 Oesterreichische-Alpine Montangesellschaft 14.9 Austria-Hungary Coal, Iron, & Steel 2 & 6 89 National Biscuit 14.7 USA FD&T - Food 3 90 Lloyds Bank 14.7 UK Finance 24 91 Goodrich (B.F.) 14.7 USA Engineering - Transport Equipment 11 92 London City & Midland Bank 14.6 UK Finance 24 93 Standard Oil (NY) 14.6 USA Petroleum 4 94 Mackay Companies 14.5 USA Telecoms - Holding Company 22 95 United Fruit 14.4 USA / Central America Primary (AFF) - Tropical Plantation 1 96 London County & Westminster Bank 14.4 UK Finance 24 97 Phoenix A.G. für Bergbau & Hüttenbetrieb 13.8 Germany Coal & Iron 2 & 4 98 Rand Mines 13.8 South Africa Mining - Gold 2 99 Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas 13.8 France Finance 24 100 Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. 13.7 USA Engineering - Electrical 9 Total 3,711m. Sources: Notes: See text and Appendix. (1) Country of major activity also indicated where Head Office location is different. Peter Wardley (UWE, Bristol: 17 July 2006)
Table 2 Geographical Location of the World's 100 Largest Capitalist Enterprises of 1912 by Equity Market Capitalization ( m.). (a) Location of Head Office in 1912 Location of Number of National Average market Proportion of total Head Office capitalist market valuation of world capitalization, enterprises capitalization, m. capitalist enterprise, m. % Austria-Hungary 1 14.9 15 0.4 France 12 371.5 31 10.0 Germany 6 109.4 18 2.9 Spain 1 25.3 25 0.7 Netherlands & UK 1 42.1 42 1.1 United Kingdom 27 1,056.6 39 28.5 South Africa 2 50.3 25 1.4 Canada 2 162.2 81 4.4 USA 48 1,878.5 39 50.6 100 Total 3,711m 37m 100% (b) Location of Major Economic Activity in 1912 [adjustments to Panel (a) to indicate employment by British overseas companies]. Location of Major Activity Spain 2 55.64 28 1.5 Argentina 3 101.62 34 2.7 United Kingdom 23 924.58 40 24.9 Source: See Table 1. Peter Wardley (UWE; Bristol: 17 July 2006)
Table 3 Economic Activity of the World's 100 Largest Capitalist Enterprises of 1912 by Equity Market Capitalization ( m.). SIC Economic Sector Number of Sector Market Proportion of total Average market code enterprises Capitalization, world capitalization, valuation, m. %. m. 1 Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 1 14 0.4 14 3 Food, Drink & Tobacco Processing 7 170 4.6 24 2 Mining and Quarrying 10 230 6.2 23 2 & 6 Coal, Iron & Steel Manufacture 3 189 5.1 63 4 Petroleum 4 155 4.2 39 5 Chemicals 2 36 1.0 18 7-11 Engineering 9 234 6.3 26 13 Textiles 1 62 1.7 62 21 Gas, Electricity and Water 1 24 0.6 24 22 Transport 45 2,177 58.7 48 22 Telecommunications 2 116 3.1 58 23 Distributive Trades 2 32 0.9 16 24 Finance 13 271 7.3 21 Source: See Table 1. 100 100% 37m Total 3,711m Note: SIC, Standard Industrial Classification (see text). Peter Wardley (UWE, Bristol: 17 July 2006)
Table 4 The World's 100 Largest Enterprises of 1912 ranked by labour employed. Peter Wardley (UWE, Bristol: 2006) Rank Company Workforce Country Ownership Major Activity/Sector SIC 1 Russian State Railway 565,435 Russia state Transport - Rail 22 2 Prussian-Hessian State Railway 525,322 Germany - Prussia state Transport - Rail 22 3 General Post Office (United Kingdom) 240,134 UK state Postal Services 22 4 Reichspost (Imperial Germany) 239,168 Germany state Postal Services 22 5 Austrian State Railway 225,608 Austria-Hungary state Transport - Rail 22 6 United States Steel Corporation 221,025 USA corporation Coal, Iron, Steel 2 & 6 7 United States of America Post Office 214,770 USA state Postal Services 22 8 Pennsylvania Railroad Company 148,994 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 9 Italian State Railway Company 148,759 Italy state Transport - Rail 22 10 American Telephone & Telegraph Co. 140,789 USA corporation Telecommunications 22 11 Hungarian Royal State Railway 135,261 Austria-Hungary state Transport - Rail 22 12 Japanese State Railway 109,983 Japan state Transport - Rail 22 13 France Post Office 108,288 France state Postal Services 22 14 East Indian Railway Company 103,314 India state Transport - Rail 22 15 Russia Post Office 101,222 Russia state Postal Services 22 16 Canadian Pacific Railway Company* 96,000 Canada corporation Transport - Rail 22 17 Indian Post Office 92,755 India state Postal Services 22 18 Singer 91,444 USA corporation Engineering - Textile Mach. 7 19 Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean (Chemins de Fer) 90,100 France corporation Transport - Rail 22 20 Great Indian Peninsula Railway 89,749 India corporation Transport - Rail 22 21 North Western Railway (India - military) 89,202 India state Transport - Rail 22 22 London & North Western Railway 82,529 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22
Table 4 (Cont.) The World's 100 Largest Enterprises of 1912 ranked by labour employed. Rank Company Workforce Country Ownership Major Activity/Sector SIC 23 Siemens (Siemens & Halske/Siemens-Schuckert) 81,235 Germany family Engineering - Electrical 9 24 Japan Post Office 79,393 Japan state Postal Services 22 25 Italy Post Office 76,302 Italy state Postal Services 22 26 Great Western Railway Company 75,783 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22 27 Austria Post Office 73,589 Austria-Hungary state Postal Services 22 28 Krupp (Friedrich) 73,405 Germany family Engineering - Various 6 29 Etat (Compagnie du Chemin de Fer) 72,500 France state Transport - Rail 22 30 Midland Railway Co.. 72,379 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22 31 Belgian State Railway 71,907 Belgium state Transport - Rail 22 32 Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) 70,162 Germany corporation Engineering - Electrical 9 33 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company 65,212 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 34 Baverian State Railway 65,170 Germany state Transport - Rail 22 35 New York Central & Hudson River Railroad 63,005 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 =36 Chinese State Railway 60,000 China state Transport - Rail 22 =36 General Electric Company 60,000 USA corporation Engineering - Electrical 9 38 Bombay, Baroda & Central Indian Railway Company 56,977 India corporation Transport - Rail 22 39 Nord (Compagnie du Chemin de Fer) 56,600 France corporation Transport - Rail 22 40 Union of South Africa Government Railways 55,273 South Africa state Transport - Rail 22 41 Eastern of France (Chemins de Fer de L'est) 54,100 France corporation Transport - Rail 22 42 Paris a Orleans (Compagnie des Chemins de Fer) 51,700 France corporation Transport - Rail 22 43 Prussian Rhineland state-owned mines 51,520 Germany state Mining - Coal 2 44 Royal Dockyards (UK) 50,350 UK state Engineering - Marine 10 45 Illinois Central Railway Co. 49,967 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22
Table 4 (Cont.) The World's 100 Largest Enterprises of 1912 ranked by labour employed. Rank Company Workforce Country Ownership Major Activity/Sector SIC 46 Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks A.G. 49,670 Germany corporation Mining - Coal 2 47 North Eastern Railway Co. 49,619 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22 48 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 49,293 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 49 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 48,567 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 50 Saxony State Railway 48,061 Germany state Transport - Rail 22 51 GAU - Russian State Main Artillery Administration 47,400 Russia state Engineering - Military 7 52 Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul Railway Company 46,674 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 53 United Fruit 46,000 USA corporation Tropical Plantations 3 54 Armour 45,000 USA corporation FD&T - Meat Processing 3 55 Southern Pacific Railway 44,088 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 56 American Tobacco* 44,000 USA corporation FD&T - Tobacco Manufacture 3 57 Madras & Southern Mahratta Railway Company 43,245 India corporation Transport - Rail 22 58 International Harvester 42,979 USA corporation Engineering - Agicultural 7 59 Chicago & North Western Railway Company 42,782 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 60 Ryazan-Uralsk Railway Company 42,699 Russia corporation Transport - Rail 22 61 Hungary Post Office 40,725 Austria-Hungary state Postal Services 22 62 Eastern Bengal Railway Company 39,915 India corporation Transport - Rail 22 63 Phoenix A.G. für Bergbau & Hüttenbetrieb 39,735 Germany corporation Coal, Iron & Steel 2 & 6 64 Central Argentine Railway Co. 39,054 Argentina corporation Transport - Rail 22 65 Deutsche-Luxemberg Bergwerks 38,760 Germany corporation Coal, Iron & Steel 2 & 6 66 South Eastern Railway 38,317 Russia corporation Transport - Rail 22
Table 4 (Cont.) The World's 100 Largest Enterprises of 1912 ranked by labour employed. Rank Company Workforce Country Ownership Major Activity/Sector SIC 67 Great Northern Railway (USA) 38,301 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 68 Austrian State Tobacco Monopoly 38,267 Austria-Hungary state FD&T - Tobacco Manufacture 3 69 Southern Railroad 37,718 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 70 Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Co. 37,317 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22 71 Bengal-Nagpur Railway Company 36,727 India corporation Transport - Rail 22 72 Erie Railroad 36,687 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 73 Swift & Co. 35,000 USA corporation FD&T - Meat Processing 3 74 Commonwealth of Australia Post Office 34,372 Australia state Postal Services 22 75 Louisville & Nashville Railroad 34,329 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 76 Great Northern Railway 34,019 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22 77 Russia Government Department of Mines 33,723 Russia state Coal, Iron & Engineering 2, 6 & 7 78 New York, New Haven & Hartford 33,287 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 79 Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) Reichseisenbahn 32,108 Germany state Transport - Rail 22 80 New South Wales Railway 31,746 Australia state Transport - Rail 22 81 Imperial Japan Naval Dockyards 31,667 Japan state Engineering - Military 22 82 Great Eastern Railway Co. 31,350 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22 83 National Railways of Mexico 31,179 Mexico state Transport - Rail 22 84 Schneider (M.) 31,000 France corporation Engineering - Various 7 85 Fine Cotton Spinners & Doublers 31,400 UK corporation Textiles - Cotton 13 86 Harpener Bergbau 30,556 Germany corporation Mining - Coal 2 =87 American Woolen 30,000 USA corporation Textiles - Wool 13 =87 Armstrong (Sir W.G.), Whitworth & Co. 30,000 UK corporation Engineering - Various 7 =87 Coats (J. & P.) Ltd. 30,000 UK corporation Textiles - Cotton 13
Table 4 Rank (Cont.) The World's 100 Largest Enterprises of 1912 ranked by labour employed. Company Workforce Country Ownership Major Activity/Sector SIC 90 Vladikavkaz Railway 29,864 Russia corporation Transport - Rail 22 91 Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway 29,776 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 92 Japanese State Tobacco Monopoly 28,664 Japan state FD&T - Tobacco Manufacture 3 93 Imperial Japan Military Arsenals 28,584 Japan state Engineering - Marine 10 94 Great Central Railway Company 28,108 UK corporation Transport - Rail 22 95 Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada* 28,000 Canada corporation Transport - Rail 22 96 Baden State Railway 27,939 Germany - Baden state Transport - Rail 22 97 Midi (Compagnie du Chemin de Fer) 27,800 France corporation Transport - Rail 22 98 Gutehoffnungshütte 27,720 Germany corporation Mining - Coal 2 99 Boston & Maine Railroad 27,544 USA corporation Transport - Rail 22 100 Vereinigte Königs- und Laurahütte 27,125 Germany corporation Coal, Iron & Steel 2 & 6 Total employment of the world's 100 largest private and state enterprises 7,354,840 Sources: See text and Appendix. Notes: * Workforce approximated. FDT: Food, Drink and Tobacco.
Table 5 Geographical Location of the World's 100 Largest Enterprises of 1912 by Employment. Location of Operational Number Total Share of Average Size Head Office in 1912 of Workforce Workforce of Enterprise Enterprises % Workforce China 1 60,000 0.8 60,000 Japan 5 278,291 3.8 55,658 Austria-Hungary 5 513,450 7.0 102,690 Belgium 1 71,907 1.0 71,907 France 8 492,088 6.7 61,511 Germany 16 1,427,656 19.4 89,229 Italy 2 225,061 3.1 112,531 Russia 7 858,660 11.7 122,666 UK 13 792,988 10.8 60,999 India 8 551,884 7.5 68,986 Canada 2 124,000 1.7 62,000 Australia 2 66,118 0.9 33,059 Union of South Africa 1 55,273 0.8 55,273 Argentina 1 39,054 0.5 39,054 Mexico 1 31,179 0.4 31,179 USA 27 1,767,231 24.0 65,453 Total employment of the world's 100 100 100% 73,548 largest private and state enterprises 7,354,840 Source: See Table 4.
Table 6 The Economic Activity of the World's 100 Largest Enterprises of 1912 by Employment. Number Sector Sector Average SIC Major Activity/Sector of Workforce Workforce Size of Code enterprises % Enterprise 1 Tropical Plantations 1 46,000 0.6 46,000 3 Food, Drink & Tobacco Processing 5 190,931 2.6 38,186 2 Mining - Coal 4 159,466 2.2 39,867 2 & 6 Integrated Coal, Iron & Steel 5 360,368 4.9 72,074 7-11 Engineering 12 638,226 8.7 53,486 13 Textiles 3 91,400 1.2 30,467 22 Telecoms 1 140,789 1.9 140,789 22 Postal Services 11 1,300,718 17.7 118,247 22 Transport 58 4,426,942 60.2 76,327 Total employment of the world's 100 100 100% 73,548 largest private and state enterprises 7,354,840 Source: See Table 4.