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OCTOBER 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Business
Smarts
Fun Facts about America’s Top Companies By Chaim Homnick
W
e are all familiar with America’s top companies and tech giants. Their logos are instantly recognizable, their products are pervasive across the world, and often their beginnings or anecdotes of their founders have entered into the realm of American folklore. But behind each of these business behemoths are often some surprising facts. Below are a selection of fun facts for some of America’s largest and most beloved companies from a variety of sectors and industries (listed alphabetically).
AMAZON Amazon was originally slated to be called “cadabra,” as in abra cadabra. But Jeff Bezos switched gears quickly when his own lawyer misheard it as “cadaver.” He instead went with Amazon, naming it after the river to suggest massive scope and because website listings back then were often alphabetical (that idea also slated his company top billing in this article!).
fact, he designed the first logo. However, Wayne sold his stock (10% of the company) for just $800 after 12 days. Amazingly, Wayne says he has no regrets of backing out as the company was too intense for him and said he fears he would’ve been “the richest man in the cemetery.” But he does regret a different sale: the contract he wrote up with Jobs and Wozniak sat in a drawer from 1976 until the early
brands like Geico. What many people don’t know is that Warren Buffett considers his investment in Berkshire Hathaway to be his worst investment ever. Berkshire Hathaway was a struggling textile business and Buffett planned to sell his shares back to the company at an agreed-upon price. When they reneged on that deal he angrily bought enough shares to as-
Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page enjoy (for $1.3 million per year) access to a private NASA runway in San Francisco so they can land their planes just a few minutes from their offices.
FACEBOOK Facebook isn’t just the social media giant; it owns most of its competition! Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp after bold acquisitions designed to ensure Facebook remains the social media leader. Interestingly, while Facebook started as the ultimate guys’ site (the “Like” button was originally an “Awesome” button), it actually skews female, with 76% of all female internet-users on the platform (66% for men) and women average twice as many posts as men.
FORD Ford is the second largest family-owned company in the world (behind Walmart). Henry Ford’s great grandson, William Clay Ford, Jr., is currently the company’s executive chairman.
APPLE Apple isn’t just the smartphone provider of over 90 million Americans; it also has more cash on hand (approximately $250 billion) than the U.S. Treasury ($171 billion). What many people don’t know is that aside from the two Steves (Jobs and Wozniak), Apple originally had a third founder: Ronald Wayne. In
$200 billion in profits for himself and his shareholders.
‘90s when he sold it for $500. In 2011, that same contract sold at auction for $1.59 million.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY The company is famous for Warren Buffett’s keen investing strategy, its $245,000 Class A price for each share, and its numerous subsidiary
sume control and fired the manager who had refused to honor his deal. Buffett calculates that had he simply started a new umbrella brand and accumulated insurance companies through that instead of under the Berkshire Hathaway name (that he controlled but did not fully own), he would’ve netted around another
Since 2010, Google has been acquiring an average of one company every week! Android, Youtube, and Waze are just a few companies that make up the Alphabet Inc. soup at Google. In terms of personal perks, founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page enjoy (for $1.3 million per year) access to a private NASA runway in San Francisco so they can land their planes just a few minutes from their offices.