What is the oldest family run business in the US?
Established in 1613 — 163 years before the founding of the United States — it is the oldest family-owned business in North America.
Oldest companies in North America
Up in the USA, the oldest company still going today is the Shirley Plantation, started in 1638 by Edward Hill, which is not only still a working plantation today – as well as a tourist attraction of course – but is also managed by his descendents all these centuries later.
As of 2021, the Japanese construction company Kongō Gumi, founded in 578 C.E is the oldest existing company worldwide, and has operated for around 1443 years.
1. Caswell-Massey (1752) Dr. William Hunter started this perfume and soap company as an apothecary shop in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1752.
In 2020, U.S. retailer Walmart was the largest family business company in the world, with sales of more than $500 billion.
In this context, the Japanese family businesses stand out like a shining example for others to follow. The oldest family business in the world is a Japanese one - Hoshi Ryokan - a hotel which is owned and run by the same family since the year 718. It is a business which is 46 generations old!
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- Consolidated Edison. ...
- Lloyd's. ...
- IBM. ...
- Tuttle Farm. ...
- Kongo Gumi.
The First Corporations
Small banking corporations existed in the first years after the American Revolution. However, most historians note that the first important industrial corporation was the Boston Manufacturing Co. in 1813.
- Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company was founded back in 1892, several years after the beverage was invented by the pharmacist John S. ...
- J.C. Penney. ...
- UPS. ...
- Boeing. ...
- L.L. Bean. ...
- Harley-Davidson. ...
- Kraft Foods. ...
- Kellogg's.
The first known trading between humans took place in New Guinea around 17,000 BCE, where locals would exchange obsidian (a volcanic glass prized for its use in hunting tools) for other needed goods – like tools, skins, and food. This early type of entrepreneurship continued for millennia.
What are the 10 oldest companies in the world?
- Marinelli Bell Foundry. Age: 978 years. ...
- Shumiya Shinbutsuguten. Age: 994 years. ...
- Chateau de Goulaine. Age: 1,018 years. ...
- Nakamura Shaji. Age: 1,048 years. ...
- Royal Mint. Age: 1,132 years. ...
- Tanaka Iga (田中伊雅仏具店) Age: 1,133 years. ...
- Monnaie de Paris. Age: 1,154 years. ...
- Staffelter Hof Winery. Age: 1,156 years.
Mexico's La Casa de Moneda de México (founded 1534) is the oldest company across North America, and the first mint of America. Owned by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, it was where the famous 'pieces of eight', or Spanish dollars were created.
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Controlled by the family are brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga. The Pinaults also signed agreement with fashion brands Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane, and have major stakes in these fashion businesses too.
In 2021, Cargill was the largest private company in the United States, by revenue. That year, they had a revenue of 134.4 billion U.S. dollars. In comparison, World Wide Technology made 13.4 billion U.S. dollars.
Rank | Company | Shareholding |
---|---|---|
1 | Walmart Inc. | 47.1 |
2 | Volkswagen AG | 53.3 |
3 | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | 37.3 |
4 | Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland, SDL, SZD) | 100.0 |
The longest family tree in the world is that of the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551–479 BC), who is descended from King Tang (1675–1646 BC). The tree spans more than 80 generations from him and includes more than 2 million members.
The average life span of a family-owned business is 24 years (familybusinesscenter.com, 2010). About 40% of U.S. family-owned businesses turn into second-generation businesses, approximately 13% are passed down successfully to a third generation, and 3% to a fourth or beyond (Businessweek.com, 2010).
Depending on who you ask, the Lurie Family is a strong contender for being the oldest known family tree in the world. According to Dr. Neil Rosenstein, who wrote The Lurie Legacy, the Lurie Family can trace its lineage all the way back to the biblical King David.
American retail corporation Walmart has been the world's largest company by revenue since 2014.
- Baker's Chocolate, 1764. (Kraft Foods) ...
- Laird & Company, 1780. (Laird & Company) ...
- King Arthur Flour, 1790. (KingArthurFlour.com) ...
- Jim Beam, 1795. POZNAN, POLAND - NOVEMBER 4, 2015: Jim Beam is one of best selling brands of bourbon in the world, produced by Beam Inc. ...
- Tabasco, 1868.
What is the oldest store in the world?
Livraria Bertrand holds the Guinness record for the world's oldest operating bookshop. Peter Faure opened its doors in Lisbon in 1732.
As far as we can tell, the oldest active business in North America is Virginia's Shirley Plantation, which has been in business since 1613, and the nation's oldest food company, which we'll get to shortly, has been around since 1765.
- 1Walmart.
- 2Amazon.
- 3Apple.
- 4CVS Health.
- 5UnitedHealth Group.
- 6Exxon Mobil.
- 7Berkshire Hathaway.
- 8Alphabet.
Henry Ford started making automobiles in 1903. AT&T began operations in 1885. But the oldest company in the Fortune 500 got its start more than a century earlier – Bank of New York Mellon, which traces its origins to 1784.
Beyond that, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that only about 12% of companies are older than 26 years. The prevailing theory, though unconfirmed, is that only about a half a percent (0.5%) of all companies have what it takes to last 100 years. This means that centennial firms truly do have lots to celebrate.
Walter Orthmann (Brazil) has been working at the same company for 84 years and 9 days, as verified on 6 January 2022. His passion, discipline and commitment motivated him to keep doing what he loves and, eventually, become an official Guinness World Records title holder for the longest career in the same company.
In 2020, the average lifespan of a company on Standard and Poor's 500 Index was just over 21 years, compared with 32 years in 1965. There is a clear long-term trend of declining corporate longevity with regards to companies on the S&P 500 Index, with this expected to fall even further throughout the 2020s.
Kongo Gumi, established in 578 AD, is the oldest, continually operating company in the world. Its headquarters are located in Osaka, Japan.
Benjamin Franklin. In a real sense, Franklin was America's first entrepreneur.
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First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His – and the Nation's – Prosperity.
Author(s): | Lengel, Edward G. |
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Reviewer(s): | Whaples, Robert |
What is the oldest building in the world?
Göbekli Tepe. Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological site of a temple in Southeastern Turkey and has been dated back to 9500 - 8000 BCE. This date was discovered by carbon dating old tools found during excavations. This building is in fact the oldest structure on earth that we have found to date.
- Blockbuster.
- Enron.
- Blackberry.
- Kodak.
- Pan-Am.
- MySpace.
- Yahoo.
- Polaroid.
- Kodak. Kodak is a technology company that dominated the photographic film market during most of the 20th century. ...
- Nokia. Nokia was the first to create a cellular network in the world. ...
- 3. Yahoo. ...
- Xerox. ...
- Blockbuster. ...
- Segway. ...
- IBM. ...
- JCPenney.
The Taylor Cos. survived the Great Depression, but the Great Recession proved more formidable for the furniture maker that calls itself Ohio's oldest continuously operated business.
Seaside Inn
Bush. Tourists have stayed in Kennebunk since 1667 at the Seaside Inn, Maine's oldest business. Innkeeping dates to 1660 on Kennebunk Beach, when ferrymen stayed on the oceanfront peninsula at the mouth of the Kennebunk River in case travelers needed to be ferried across the river.
- Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company was founded back in 1892, several years after the beverage was invented by the pharmacist John S. ...
- J.C. Penney. ...
- UPS. ...
- Boeing. ...
- L.L. Bean. ...
- Harley-Davidson. ...
- Kraft Foods. ...
- Kellogg's.
Rank by Age | Country | Company Name |
---|---|---|
1 | Japan | Kongo Gumi |
2 | Austria | St. Peter Stifts Kulinarium |
3 | Germany | Staffelter Hof Winery |
4 | France | Monnaie de Paris |
The First Corporations
Small banking corporations existed in the first years after the American Revolution. However, most historians note that the first important industrial corporation was the Boston Manufacturing Co. in 1813.
Founded in the 16th century, Beretta is the oldest active manufacturer of firearm components in the world. In 1526 its inaugural product was arquebus barrels; by all accounts Beretta-made barrels equipped the Venetian fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.