The companies owning the most companies

In business terms, a subsidiary is a noun, meaning a company controlled by a holding company. To you and me, that’s one company owning another. It’s very common for large corporations to buy out or merge with other companies either in their space or in a new environment as part of a business plan to grow and dominate. 

It would be a popular thought that the likes of Google, Apple or Amazon own the most companies given their market value, but you’ll be surprised. 

Using the OECD-UNSD multinational enterprise data set, which examines the largest 500 multinational enterprises, we’ve conducted a study to determine which own the highest number of other businesses and which sectors they belong to.

Which companies own the most companies?

When looking at the companies that own the most companies, we found there to be plenty of names you’re likely to know, but also some that may surprise you.

Vinci SA, a world leader in concessions and energy services, ranked first, owning close to 4,000 subsidiaries - over 1,000 more than second-ranked HCA Healthcare Inc. Vinci SA operates in more than 120 countries, has over 285,000 employees worldwide and has driven more than $70 billion in revenue. 

Several familiar brands also appear in the top 10,, including the likes of Lloyds Banking Group PLC, Shell PLC and Volkswagen AG. 

Which industries control the business world?

Taking a closer look at the data, we analysed which industries have the largest share of control over businesses. 

In total, 65 of the top 500 companies belong to financial services brands. Given the nature of finance and understanding of tax, growth and acquisitions, this is not a surprise.

Germany's multinational financial services company Allianz SE leads in the sector, owning more than 1,900 brands.

Energy falls second, with 42 of the top 500 companies, with technology falling in third.

The businesses owning the most companies by industry 

Below, we’ve broken the data down further, understanding which companies own the highest number of companies by industry.

Sectors we looked at include financial services, banking, automotive, pharmaceuticals, oil and healthcare.

Financial services

Banking

Automotive

Pharmaceutical

Oil

Healthcare

Finance and energy sectors dominate - but will technology catch up?

As shown by our data, it’s not the typical tech giants that have the most control of businesses; it belongs to companies in the financial and energy sectors. Are we to see a shift in the future here? Possibly, given the growth of tech companies in recent years, something we’re sure to keep an eye on.

Methodology

Using the OECD-UNSD multinational enterprise information platform, we looked into the latest data on the total number of subsidiaries per parent company. We then grouped each company into an industry to determine which are the most common.