Fortune Global 500 Now Richer, More International, But With Same Number Of Female CEOs

Fortune Global 500 Now Richer, More International, But With Same Number Of Female CEOs

On Thursday, Fortune released its annual Global 500 list of the world's largest corporations by revenue.

The U.S. tops the list with 133 corporations, including three in the top 10 -- Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron, whose profits all rose in the past year. But the number of American corporations on the list is down from 185 in the 2001 rankings.

Meanwhile, China has 61 corporations on the 2011 list, including three -- Sinopec Group, China National Petroleum, and State Grid -- in the top 10. That's a precipitous rise from 2001, when China had 12 entries in the Global 500, or even 2006, when it had only 20.

In general, Fortune notes, the list is getting more international. Colombia appears in the Global 500 for the first time this year with the oil and gas company Ecopetrol, which had revenues of $21.4 billion.

According to a press release from Fortune, the combined profits of the Global 500 increased 59 percent from last year. Wal-Mart, the top company on both the 2010 and 2011 lists, reported profits of $16.3 billion this year, up from $14.3 billion in 2010. Chevron saw profits of $19 billion, up from $10.4 billion in 2010, and Exxon Mobil made $30.4 billion in profits, up from $19.2 billion last year.

There are 12 corporations on the list with female CEOs -- the same number as on the Fortune 500 list of U.S. companies, and the same number as on last year's Global 500, though only 10 of the 12 women appeared on last year's Global list. Of those 12 corporations, the highest-ranked is Archer Daniels Midland, led by Patricia Woertz, at No. 122. The newcomers are Ursula Burns at Xerox, which did not appear on last year's list, and Alison Cooper at Imperial Tobacco Group, who replaced Gareth Davis in 2010.

Of the five mortgage lenders audited this spring for improper foreclosure practices, three -- Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo -- appear in the top 100.

The full list can be seen here.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot