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You are here: Home / Politics / Worst Year In Fortune 500 History – 2008

Worst Year In Fortune 500 History – 2008

April 20, 2009 by Paul Spoerry Leave a Comment

“Everything that happens in business in the United States shows up in one way or another in the 500,” said Carol Loomis, Fortune’s senior editor-at-large. “It’s a mirror to the economy.” Since 1955, more than 2,000 companies have earned a spot on the list, but in 55 years only three have achieved the number one slot: General Motors, ExxonMobil and Wal-Mart.

2008 was the worst year in the history of the Fortune 500 for America’s largest companies. How bad was the profit decrease? From $645 billion in profits in 2007, profits dropped this year to just $98.9 billion – an 84.7 percent decline!

Records were broken: Eleven of the top 25 largest corporate losses in list history took place last year.

The biggest loser of them all was of course insurance giant AIG. The company posted a $99.3 billion loss. But it’s still on the list (I guess it really is “too big to fail”!). AIG is still at the half way point for the Fortune 500. It’s ranked at number 245, thought it’s down from number 13 last year. Thirty-eight companies disappeared from the list altogether. Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers of course, but it was also “last call” for Saint Louis based brewer Anheuser Busch.

Who was the big winner in 2008? Oil of course! ExxonMobil which was boosted by higher gas prices, trucked past Wal-Mart to arrive at the coveted number one spot.

Filed Under: Politics

About Paul Spoerry

I’m a groovy cat who’s into technology, Eastern Thought, and house music. I’m a proud and dedicated father to the coolest little guy on the planet (seriously, I'm NOT biased). I’m fascinated by ninjas, the Internet, and anybody who can balance objects on their nose for long periods of time.

I have a utility belt full of programming languages and a database of all my knowledge on databases... I practice code fu. Oh, I've also done actual Kung Fu, and have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

I run. I meditate. I dance. I blog at PaulSpoerry.com, tweet @PaulSpoerry, and I'm here on Google+.

I'm currently work for IBM developing web enabled insurance applications for IBM and support and develop a non-profit called The LittleBigFund.

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