Fortune 500 facts for kids
The Fortune 500 is a special list made every year by Fortune magazine. It ranks the 500 largest companies in the United States based on how much money they earn, called their total revenue. This list includes both companies whose shares are traded publicly and private companies if their earnings are known. The idea for the Fortune 500 came from Edgar P. Smith, an editor at Fortune magazine. The very first list was published in 1955. The Fortune 500 is more famous than the smaller Fortune 100 list or the larger Fortune 1000 list.
Contents
History of the List
The Fortune 500 list was first put together by Edgar P. Smith. It was published in January 1955. The first ten companies on that original list were General Motors, Jersey Standard, U.S. Steel, General Electric, Esmark, Chrysler, Armour, Gulf Oil, Mobil, and DuPont.
How Companies Are Chosen
When the Fortune 500 list first started, it only included companies that made money from things like manufacturing (making products), mining, and finding energy. At that time, Fortune also made other lists. These included the "Fortune 50" lists for the 50 biggest banks, utility companies, insurance companies, retailers (stores), and transportation companies.
In 1994, Fortune magazine changed how it picked companies for the list. They started including service companies too. Because of this change, 291 new companies joined the famous list. Three of these new companies even made it into the Top 10 that year.
Why the List is Important
As of 2020, the companies on the Fortune 500 list are very important to the United States' economy. They make up about two-thirds of the country's total economic output. These companies earned around $14.2 trillion in revenue and made $1.2 trillion in profits. Their total value in the market was about $20.4 trillion.
The money these companies earn also makes up about 18% of all the money earned in the entire world. Together, these companies employ about 29.2 million people around the globe. That's almost 0.4% of the world's total population!
Top Companies in the U.S.
Here is a list of the top 20 companies from the Fortune 500 list in 2024. These are the biggest companies based on their revenue.
| Rank | Company | State | Industry | Revenue in USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart |  Arkansas |
General merchandisers | $648.1 billion |
| 2 | Amazon |  Washington |
Internet services and retailing | $574.8 billion |
| 3 | Apple |  California |
Computers, office equipment | $383.3 billion |
| 4 | UnitedHealth Group |  Minnesota |
Health care: insurance and managed care | $371.6 billion |
| 5 | Berkshire Hathaway |  Nebraska |
Insurance: property and casualty (stock) | $364.5 billion |
| 6 | CVS Health |  Rhode Island |
Health care: pharmacy and other services | $357.8 billion |
| 7 | ExxonMobil |  Texas |
Petroleum refining | $344.6 billion |
| 8 | Alphabet Inc. | California |
Internet services and retailing | $307.4 billion |
| 9 | McKesson Corporation | Texas |
Wholesalers: health care | $276.7 billion |
| 10 | Cencora |  Pennsylvania |
Wholesalers: health care | $262.2 billion |
| 11 | Costco | Washington |
General merchandisers | $242.3 billion |
| 12 | JPMorgan Chase |  New York |
Commercial banks | $239.4 billion |
| 13 | Microsoft | Washington |
Computer software | $211.9 billion |
| 14 | Cardinal Health |  Ohio |
Wholesalers: health care | $205.0 billion |
| 15 | Chevron Corporation | Texas |
Petroleum refining | $200.9 billion |
| 16 | Cigna |  Connecticut |
Health care: pharmacy and other services | $195.3 billion |
| 17 | Ford Motor Company |  Michigan |
Motor vehicles & parts | $176.2 billion |
| 18 | Bank of America |  North Carolina |
Commercial banks | $171.9 billion |
| 19 | General Motors | Michigan |
Motor vehicles & parts | $171.8 billion |
| 20 | Elevance Health |  Indiana |
Health care: insurance and managed care | $171.3 billion |
Where Companies Are Located by State
This table shows the top 18 states that have the most Fortune 500 companies as of 2024.
| Rank | State | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California |
57 |
| 2 | New York |
52 |
| Texas |
52 | |
| 4 |  Illinois |
32 |
| 5 | Ohio |
27 |
| 6 |  Virginia |
24 |
| 7 |  Florida |
22 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania |
20 |
| 9 |  Georgia |
18 |
| 10 | Minnesota |
17 |
| 11 |  Massachusetts |
16 |
| Michigan |
16 | |
| 13 | Connecticut |
15 |
| 14 |  New Jersey |
14 |
| 15 | North Carolina |
12 |
| Washington |
12 | |
| 17 |  Arizona |
10 |
 Tennessee |
10 |
Where Companies Are Located by City Area
This table lists the top 10 metropolitan statistical areas (large city areas) that have the most Fortune 500 companies as of 2024.
| Rank | Metropolitan area | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  New York City |
46 |
| 2 |  Chicago |
30 |
| 3 |  Houston |
23 |
| 4 |  Dallas |
20 |
 San Jose, California |
20 | |
 Washington, D.C. |
20 | |
| 7 |  Atlanta |
16 |
| 8 |  Minneapolis |
15 |
| 9 |  Boston |
14 |
 San Francisco |
14 |
Related Lists
- 40 Under 40
- Fortune Global 500
- Fortune India 500
- Fortune 1000
- List of largest companies in the United States by revenue
- List of largest companies by revenue
- List of Fortune 500 computer software and information companies
- List of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies
- Forbes Global 2000
- Total Fortune 1000 companies by urban area list
See also
In Spanish: Fortune 500 para niños
