The Largest Private Companies

Special Report
The Largest Private Companies
By Shlomo Reifman and Samantha N. Wong 11.09.06, 6:00 PM ET

The 394 companies on this year’s listing of America’s Largest Private Companies all have at least $1 billion in annual revenue. They have either too few shareholders to be required to file financial statements with the Securities & Exchange Commission or shares whose ownership is restricted to some group, like family members or employees. We exclude foreign companies, companies that don’t pay income taxes (like Battelle Memorial Institute), mutually owned companies (Northwestern Mutual Group), companies with fewer than 100 employees and companies that are 50% or more owned by foreign or other private companies. We also leave out companies whose primary business is auto dealerships or real estate investment and/or management. Our revenue figures for each company exclude sales of publicly traded subsidiaries. More...

Edited By: Shlomo Reifman and Samantha N. Wong
Researchers: Jon Bruner, Jennifer Dooly, Andrew T. Gillies, Christopher Grenga, Ruth Kwan, Godwin Maidment, Paul M. Murdock, John Ray, Christina Settimi, Jody Yen
Programmer: Carl Subick

Sort List By:
Rank | Name | State | Industry | Revenue | Employees

View List By:

In Pictures

	The Ten Largest Private Companies These well-known names top our annual listing of the biggest private companies.
	Newcomers These companies are new to our annual list of the largest American private companies.
	Drop-Offs These companies from our 2005 list of America's largest private companies no longer qualify for the list.
	Private Companies From The 19th Century These 51 companies from our list of the largest American private companies can trace their roots back to the 1800s.
	Biggest Buyouts To date, these are the largest completed leveraged buyouts in the U.S.
	The Forbes 400 And The Largest Private Companies America's wealthiest individuals and families own nearly 15% of the country's largest private companies.
	Companies Going Private If all goes as planned, these companies are likely to become future members of our list of America's largest private companies.

Featured

Introduction: America's Largest Private Companies
By Shlomo Reifman and Samantha N. Wong
With $1.25 trillion in sales and 4.4 million employees, these companies are a big part of the U.S. economy.

Medicine Man
By Matthew Rand
Drug wholesaler Stewart Rahr has built up a profitable $4 billion business. Now he can either sell it—or face a slowdown.

Party's Over
By Emily Lambert
Solo Cup was once a proud business. After a bungled acquisition and poor management it's a shambles.

Time to Move On?
By Matthew Swibel
As real estate's fortunes change, Long & Foster still revolves around its namesake founder. Is that a good thing?

Hold the Tomato
By Suzanne Hoppough
Amid a rash of food scandals, one beloved chain shows what it takes to get customers back.

Cancer Capitalists
By Evan Hessel
US Oncology's doctors treat one in seven new cancer patients—and enrage the rest of medicine.

Building Momentum: Aecom Technology
By Andrew T. Gillies
This engineering concern has few equals when it comes to sales growth. Does a public offering lie ahead?

Putting On A Private Face
By Jon Bruner
As investment bankers wrap up their latest buyouts, speculation abounds on future targets.

The Biggest Privately Held Tech Companies
By Steve Kichen
These technology outfits aren't for public consumption. Not yet, at least.

The Top Ten

Map

Largest Private Companies By State

In Pictures

Featured

The Top Ten

Map

See Also