A From this year's Forbes list Cargill topped it. The agribusiness took the top spot for the third year in a row. While the top spot may not be surprising: Forbes has been listing private companies for 39 years, Cargill has appeared 36 times. In its most recent fiscal year, which ended in May 2023, it posted record revenue of $177 million, up 7 percent year over year. Koch Industries held on to the No. 2 spot with revenue of $125 billion. The family-owned company’s sales revenue remained flat compared to the previous year.
SpaceX, the space exploration company founded and led by Elon Musk, which recently signed billions of dollars in government contracts, also was listed, boosting its estimated revenue to $4.6 billion.
Sazerac, the spirits company owned by billionaire William Goldring, debuted at No. 207 with an estimated revenue of $3 billion. SpaceX, Sazerac, and the Big Five all have one thing in common: billionaires.
In addition to the 11 newcomers, four more companies returned to the list after dropping out in previous years. These include petroleum coke processor Oxbow, which dropped out in 2020 and is now back at No. 224 with sales of $2.7 billion.
The big winner this year is Colonial Group, which climbed 73 spots to No. 126. The Georgia-based company distributes oil and natural gas products and is also the owner of the Enmarket convenience store chain.
This year's list includes 258 companies, up from 246 last year. To be included, a company must have revenue of at least $2 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
