New American Fortune 500: The Legacy of Immigrants and Their Children
Date: October 10, 2018
Immigrant entrepreneurs have long been an important part of America’s economic success story. Some of the largest and most recognizable American companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants, from Apple, to AT&T, to Costco. Even Bank of America was founded by Italian immigrant Amadeo Giannini, who wanted to build a bank that catered to “the little fellows”— immigrants who struggled to get loans elsewhere. [1]
NAE in the past has periodically analyzed the role of immigrants in founding the Fortune 500 companies, the group of American firms pinpointed by Fortune each year for boasting the highest revenues in the country. In the first New American Fortune 500 report, NAE found that more than two out of every five Fortune 500 firms had at least one first- or second-generation immigrant founder. [2]
In this brief, we update our analysis, this time looking at the New American companies that made the 2018 Fortune 500 list. We find 44 percent—or 219 companies—in the Fortune 500 were founded by immigrants or their children. A full 100, or one out of every five, were founded by foreign-born individuals while another 119 were founded by the children of immigrants. Of this year’s crop of New American Economy Fortune 500, several notable new companies made the cut (See Table 1).
Selected Newcomers to the New American Fortune 500
| Rank | Company Name |
Revenue (in Millions) | Employees |
| 173 | Synchrony Financial |
$16,695 | 16,000 |
| 229 | Booking Holdings |
$12,681 | 22,900 |
| 241 | Jefferies Financial Group |
$12,408 | 12,700 |
| 260 | Tesla |
$11,759 | 37,543 |
| 275 | Molson Coors Brewing |
$11,003 | 17,200 |
| 304 | IQVIA Holdings |
$9,739 | 55,000 |
| 306 | Nvidia |
$9,714 | 11,528 |
| 344 | DCP Midstream |
$8,462 | 343 |
| 350 | News Corp. |
$8,139 | 26,000 |
| 352 | Westlake Chemical |
$8,041 | 8,799 |
| 371 | Coty |
$7,650 | 22,000 |
| 392 | Thor Industries |
$7,247 | 17,800 |
| 398 | Blackstone Group |
$7,119 | 2,360 |
| 401 | Activision Blizzard |
$7,017 | 9,800 |
| 428 | MasTec |
$6,607 | 17,300 |
| 451 | Chemours |
$6,183 | 7,000 |
| 469 | AmTrust Financial Services |
$5,959 | 9,300 |
| 480 | Toll Brothers |
$5,815 | 4,500 |
| 489 | Cheniere Energy |
$5,601 | |
| 496 | Polaris Industries |
$5,505 | 11,000 |
| 499 | Vistra Energy |
$5,430 | 4,150 |
These New American firms make enormous contributions to both the U.S. and the global economy. In fiscal year 2017, the 219 New American companies on the 2018 Fortune 500 list brought in $5.5 trillion in revenue. To put it in context, that figure is greater than the GDP of many developed countries—including Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In fact, a country with a GDP equal to the revenues of the New American Fortune 500 firms would be the third largest economy in the world, behind only the United States and China. Together, these New American Fortune 500 firms also employ almost 13 million people—a population that would rank as the fifth largest state in the country, just after New York and just beating Pennsylvania.
When we look at things at the state level, New American Fortune 500 firms are significant players in some states’ economies. As seen in Table 2, there are several states that have 10 or more New American Fortune 500 companies. Leading the pack, perhaps unsurprisingly as a center for business and America’s original immigrant gateway, New York has 35. California comes in second with 25 New American Fortune 500 companies, followed by Illinois with 21, Texas with 18, and Virginia with 12. Given their numbers and size of these companies in these states, their economic impact is even more outsize compared to each state’s economy. For example, in New York, the Fortune 500 companies brought in revenue that equaled 57.3 percent of the state’s total GDP and employed more than 2 million people around the world. In Illinois, New American companies brought in combined revenue equal to 69 percent of the state’s GDP.
New American Fortune 500 by State
| State | Number of New American Fortune 500 Companies |
Combined Revenue (in Millions) |
Employees (Worldwide) |
| AL | 1 | $6,093 | 21,714 |
| AR | 1 | $5,853 | 12,979 |
| AZ | 2 | $39,288 | 40,900 |
| CA | 25 | $698,671 | 1,150,140 |
| CO | 3 | $30,448 | 38,150 |
| CT | 6 | $260,114 | 672,600 |
| DE | 1 | $6,183 | 7,000 |
| FL | 10 | $124,845 | 258,842 |
| GA | 6 | $223,972 | 886,459 |
| IA | 1 | $6,641 | 25,463 |
| IL | 21 | $567,001 | 1,332,798 |
| IN | 3 | $22,324 | 29,585 |
| KS | 1 | $5,809 | 11,800 |
| LA | 1 | $11,075 | 13,504 |
| MA | 6 | $112,373 | 417,400 |
| MD | 1 | $51,048 | 100,000 |
| MI | 6 | $263,952 | 527,887 |
| MN | 7 | $101,132 | 222,334 |
| MO | 4 | $46,096 | 167,380 |
| NC | 5 | $138,975 | 408,376 |
| NE | 1 | $8,678 | 22,000 |
| NJ | 9 | $155,732 | 701,767 |
| NV | 2 | $23,656 | 119,000 |
| NY | 35 | $886,023 | 2,044,848 |
| OH | 6 | $220,601 | 648,926 |
| OK | 1 | $12,174 | 2,470 |
| OR | 1 | $10,087 | 12,899 |
| PA | 9 | $328,679 | 557,892 |
| TN | 2 | $30,558 | 77,000 |
| TX | 18 | $485,886 | 703,909 |
| VA | 12 | $200,323 | 687,144 |
| WA | 7 | $363,875 | 897,956 |
| WI | 5 | $62,152 | 145,107 |
| TOTAL | 219 | 12,966,229 |
The New American Fortune 500 is only one example of how immigrants and their children create American jobs and drive our economy. Medium and small businesses are also vital to the U.S. economy, employing many more millions at neighborhood stores, restaurants, professional services, and other local businesses. Immigrants have a significant role to play here, as well. Data from 2016 shows that immigrants are more likely to be entrepreneurs than their U.S.-born counterparts.
But there is also no guarantee that the next generation of top entrepreneurs will build their businesses in this country, with the vast majority of other developed nations offering attractive entrepreneurship visas and immigration programs. To continue to compete for global talent, the United States should develop visa programs and incentives that encourage, rather than discourage, the next set of New American Fortune 500 entrepreneurs.
Notes
[1] “Who Made America? A.P. Giannini,” PBS.org, accessed September 1, 2016, Available online.
[2] The Partnership for a New American Economy, “The ‘New American’ Fortune 500,” June 2011, Available online.
