ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil are currently the largest company in the world, based on market capitalisation and revenue. Branded in the UK as the more familiar Esso, ExxonMobil has grown into a formiddable company that even Wal-Mart struggle to contend with. The original ExxonMobil was founded as Standard Oil, a New York and Texas based company which started in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller, the first American billionaire. In 1999, Exxon and Mobil merged to form ExxonMobil. Both Exxon and Mobil are descendants of the original Rockefeller company.

ExxonMobil often tussle with Wal-Mart for the number one spot of the largest company in the world and, in 2005, ExxonMobil finally surpassed Wal-Mart for the first time. ExxonMobil’s net income for 2007 was an astounding USD$40.610 billion, a huge number and the largest by any company in the world.  

ExxonMobil have received some complaints and criticism in it’s recent history. ExxonMobil had recently been the target of human rights activists for actions taken by the corporation in the Indonesian territory of Aceh. In June 2001, a lawsuit against ExxonMobil was filed in the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The suit alleges that ExxonMobil knowingly assisted human rights violations, including torture, murder and rape, by employing and providing material support to Indonesian military forces, who committed the alleged offenses during civil unrest in Aceh. Human rights complaints involving ExxonMobil’s relationship with the Indonesian military first arose in 1992; the company denies these accusations and has filed a motion to dismiss the suit which, as of 2006, is still pending.

ExxonMobil’s environmental record is not as good as it should be. ExxonMobil has drawn criticism for its funding of organizations critical of the Kyoto Protocol and skeptical of the scientific opinion that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. The company also donates to pro-environmental causes such the Nature Conservancy. Based on year 2000 data,  ExxonMobil was ranked sixth on the Toxic 100 list of US corporate air polluters by Political Economy Research Institute (PERI).  In 2005, ExxonMobil had committed less than 1% of their profits towards researching alternative energy, less than other leading oil companies.

There have been numerous oil spills due to ignorance by ExxonMobil, Exxon or Mobil. The Valdez Oil Spill, caused by Exxon in 1989 in Alaska, affected the wildlife of the Prince William Sound. This caused outrage and is deemed one of the most harmful oil spills of the 20th century.

All in all, ExxonMobil continue to provide an excellent service of oil to manufacturers and consumers worldwide, and they will still remain the top dog in the business world for years to come.

Microsoft

Microsoft is, today, a household name. Started in 1975 by William Horatio Gates III (better known to us as Bill Gates) and Paul Allen, Microsoft has grown from a small home computer company into one of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world. But how did they do it? They found a problem, and solved it. They produced a user-friendly operating system that even the most laymans of people could function.

Microsoft tried many different operating systems before, in 1995, creating Windows 95, an easy-to-use, fun, intuitive system. They updated the system many times, and we currently have Windows Vista, with Windows 7 on the horizon. However, Windows Vista has been severely unsuccessful due to the high number of user-complaints because of the operating system often crashing, and the system’s inability to run with older printers. However, Windows 7 is said to fix all these problems and be the “dawn of a new era for Microsoft”.

But more recently, Microsoft have delved into the further technological advancements that man has developed. Their Xbox and Xbox 360 have been gaming successes across the globe. They are currently the second best selling home console around, and have overtaken the feats of Sony’s Playstation 3. Then there’s the highly unsuccessful attempt at diving into the world of multimedia players, namely their “Zune”, which has failed miserably and is really no comparison to Apple’s iPod, or even Creative’s Zen.

But through it all, Microsoft are still rolling in the dough, so to speak. They have over 89,000 employees in over 100 different countries worldwide. Their revenue currently stands at a massive USD$60.42 billion.

Through the last 30-odd years, Microsoft have grown into a multi-national conglomerate and have (mainly) Bill Gates to thank for it, and because of Microsoft, Gates was at one point the richest man in the world.