The largest 500 family enterprises generate US$8.02 trillion in revenue : US Pioneer Global VC DIFCHQ Riyadh UAE-Singapore Norway Swiss Our Mind

The 2023 EY and University of St.Gallen Family Business Index reveals the largest family enterprises are growing faster than the global economy.

In brief

  • The largest 500 family enterprises generate US$8.02 trillion in revenue – up 10% from 2021.
  • The inflow of new entrants, mainly from Europe (35%), is mostly public (62%). Almost half (47%) are from manufacturing, reflecting recovery in the sector.
  • Women hold only 23% of board seats, indicating more needs to be done to close the gap.

Collectively, the family enterprises that were included in the 2023 EY and University of St.Gallen Family Business Index generated $US8.02 trillion in revenue – a 10% increase on the 2021 Index1.

According to the International Monetary Fund2, the global economy grew by 6% in 2021, and is forecast to grow by 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023. This means family enterprises have been growing at nearly twice the rate of advanced economies and around one and a half times the rate of emerging market and developing economies.

Between them, the 500 companies on the Index employ 24.52 million people, up 1.4% from 2021, and are distributed across 47 different jurisdictions.

The Index highlights, once again, the huge contribution of the world’s largest 500 family enterprises to the global economy. In fact, their contribution is so significant that if they were a national economy, they would be the third largest among the club of 19 “trillion-dollar economies3” that exist in the world, after the US and China.

The largest 500 family businesses collectively generate US$8.02 trillion revenues and employ 24.5 million people worldwide.

Where are the largest family enterprises based?

Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA)

Europe has a strong tradition of family enterprises, driven by Germany, the second-largest contributor to the Index in relation to number of companies (78), combined revenues of US$1.13 trillion and number of employees (3.35 million). Germany continues to be the base for nearly a third (31%) of the largest family businesses in EMEIA.

The average age for German companies in the Index is 109 years old, and Germany is home to the oldest European company in the Index – science and technology company, Merck KGaA. One of the German companies, retailer Schwarz Group, ranks among the top 10 largest family enterprises globally.

Overall, more than half (50.4%) of the companies in the Index are based in EMEIA. Their combined revenues are US$3.46 trillion – 43.2% of the total value of the Index. Europe alone contributes US$3.05 trillion of this and in doing so, surpasses the US$3 trillion in combined revenues mark for the first time.

India, with the largest population in EMEIA and the second largest in the world, broke into the top 10 largest family enterprises for the first time in this year’s Index. This is thanks to conglomerate, Reliance Industries, which climbed from 12th place to 10th place in the Index. Additionally, India is the fourth largest contributor to the Index in terms of combined revenue of its companies (US$365 billion).

Americas

Given its dominance as the world’s largest economy, it is no surprise that the US contributed nearly one quarter (23.6%) of featured companies and more than one-third (34%) of collectively generated revenue. The US alone contributed 80.2% (US$2.72 trillion) of the combined revenue generated by the Americas on the 2023 Index. Seven out of the 10 biggest family enterprises globally are based in the US. Despite having significantly fewer businesses on the Index than EMEIA, the Americas nearly equalled EMEIA’s revenue contribution to the Index, with a total of US$3.4 trillion.

Asia-Pacific

The number of companies based in Asia-Pacific climbed to 79 in the 2023 Index, up from 74 in 2021 – a 6.8% increase. This figure has been consistently increasing ever since the first edition of the Index in 2015 when 61 companies from the region were listed. Asia-Pacific has not suffered a negative trend during that time.

Additionally, the combined revenue of companies from Asia-Pacific passed the US$1 trillion barrier for the first time this year. The increase in a company’s average revenue, compared with the previous Index, was also greatest in the region. The average Asia-Pacific company has increased its revenue by 15%, or by nearly US$2 billion, since the previous edition of the Index.

Hong Kong continues to account for the highest number of family enterprises (18) in Asia-Pacific, while South Korea continues to account for largest revenue (30%) of the region’s combined revenue of US$1.16 trillion. The largest South Korean enterprise on the Index is SK Group.

What kinds of businesses make up the 2023 Index?

The Index continues to be dominated by consumer-based family enterprises, which compose around 40% of the 2023 Index in terms of both revenue contribution (39%) and number of businesses (37%). Another sector where family enterprises are strongly represented is advanced manufacturing and mobility (AM&M), which comprises 27% of the Index in terms of revenue.

https://www.ey.com/en_gl/family-enterprise/family-business-index