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In a report on family businesses this month, Credit Suisse introduced the CS Global Family 900 universe— a database of the 920 largest family-owned companies in the world. Companies on the list are publicly-traded with market capitalization's of at least $1 billion, as well as family-owned stakes of at least 20 percent.

The 920 companies are found in 35 countries, with more than 64 percent coming from Emerging Asia.

"In more developed markets, we see more fragmented ownership and many families selling out over time as a general theme," Credit Suisse analysts noted. "Frequently quoted statistics from the Family Business Institute show that only one third of family-owned businesses last into a second generation of ownership, 12% to a third and just 3% to a fourth."

But some of these companies have been controlled by families for generations, and no family business comes without family troubles. Many of these companies have experienced very public feuds between relatives. And with transgressions ranging from bribery to doing business with Hitler, some have done things that they probably wouldn't do again.

The 21 biggest family-owned businesses in the world
Corey Stern Jul 14, 2015, 5:31 AM
Walton Family
Alice, Rob, and Jim Walton, children of Walmart founder Sam Walton. AP Photo/April L. Brown
These are not your average mom and pop stores.


In a report on family businesses this month, Credit Suisse introduced the CS Global Family 900 universe— a database of the 920 largest family-owned companies in the world. Companies on the list are publicly-traded with market capitalization's of at least $1 billion, as well as family-owned stakes of at least 20 percent.

The 920 companies are found in 35 countries, with more than 64 percent coming from Emerging Asia.

"In more developed markets, we see more fragmented ownership and many families selling out over time as a general theme," Credit Suisse analysts noted. "Frequently quoted statistics from the Family Business Institute show that only one third of family-owned businesses last into a second generation of ownership, 12% to a third and just 3% to a fourth."

But some of these companies have been controlled by families for generations, and no family business comes without family troubles. Many of these companies have experienced very public feuds between relatives. And with transgressions ranging from bribery to doing business with Hitler, some have done things that they probably wouldn't do again.


Here's the list of the top 21 family-owned businesses from the CS Global Family 900 universe. Spoiler Alert: Walmart is only number three.


21. Sun Pharmaceutical
Sun Pharma
Dilip Shanghvi, founder of Sun Pharmaceutical. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
Industry: Health Care

Country: India

Market Cap: $36 billion

Family: Shanghvi

Comment: According to Forbes, Dilip Shanghvi founded Sun Pharmaceutical in 1983 after borrowing the equivalent of $160 from his father. Today it is the biggest drug company in India, making Shanghvi — still the firm's largest shareholder — India's second richest man.


20. CK Hutchison Holdings
Li Ka Shing
CK Hutchison founder and chairman, Li Ka-shing. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Industry: Financials

Country: Hong Kong

Market Cap: $36 billion

Family: Li

Comment: After a massive reorganization last month, Cheung Kong Holdings is now CK Hutchison Holdings, with Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, and his family at the helm. Li founded the company in the 1950s and today runs it with his son Victor. His other son Richard is also a billionaire.


19. Carnival Corporation
Carnival Dream cruise ship
Wikimedia Commons
Industry: Consumer Discretionary

Country: United States

Market Cap: $37 billion

Family: Arison

Comment: Siblings Micky and Shari Arison both hold large stakes in Carnival, the cruise ship operator founded by their late father, Ted. Micky is Chairman and a former CEO of Carnival, and also owns the Miami Heat. Shari has her own investment firm in Israel and is one of the richest people in the Middle East.

18. Phillips 66
Phillips 66
M01229/Flickr
Industry: Energy

Country: United States

Market Cap: $43 billion

Family: Phillips

Comment: The gas producer initially founded by Frank and L.E. Phillips in 1917 as the Phillips Petroleum Company. A merger with Conoco in 2002 created ConocoPhillips, but Phillips 66 was spun-off only ten years later. Throughout all this, the Phillips family have remained large shareholders in the company.

17. Reliance Industries
Ambani Family
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, poses with his son Akash, daughter Isha, wife Nita and mother Kokilaben. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
Industry: Energy

Country: India

Market Cap: $45 billion

Family: Ambani

Comment: The Ambani's are India's richest family. Mukesh Ambani is Chairman and CEO of the holding company founded by his father Dhirubhai. Mukesh's wife Nita also sits on the board, while son Akash and daughter Isha are on the boards of the company's retail and telecom units.

16. Richemont
Johann Rupert and Family
Chairman of Richemont, Johann Rupert poses with his wife Gaynor and daughter Hanneli. Ian Walton/Getty Images
Industry: Consumer Discretionary

Country: Switzerland

Market Cap: $46 billion

Family: Rupert

Comment: South African billionaire Johann Rupert founded the luxury goods conglomerate out of his father's tobacco company. Today, Richemont is the world's second largest luxury goods company behind LVMH with brands such as Cartier, Montblanc and IWC in its portfolio. The Rupert family remains a major shareholder.

15. Foxconn
foxconn factory china
Apple and its suppliers such as Taiwanese tycoon Terry Gou's Foxconn Technology Group have been the target of labour rights groups, which say the world's most valuable technology company are making iPhones and iPads in massive sweat shops. REUTERS/Stringer
Industry: Information Technology

Country: Taiwan

Market Cap: $49 billion

Family: Gou

Comment: Foxconn, officially known as Hon Hai Precision, manufactures electronics for big name companies like Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and more. The company founded by Terry Gou came under fire after a 2012 investigation by the New York Times documenting the terrible working conditions and high suicide rates in its factories across Asia.

14. Sun Hung Kai Properties
Kwok Brothers
From left to right: Raymond, Walter, and Thomas Kwok. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Industry: Financials

Country: Hong Kong

Market Cap: $49 billion

Family: Kwok

Comment: The Kwok brothers are all billionaires from the real estate company founded by their late father Tak-Seng— but it hasn’t been all smooth sailing in the family business. Walter Kwok resigned from the company in 2014 after a feud with brothers Thomas and Raymond. Later that year, Thomas resigned after being found guilty of bribing Hong Kong officials. Raymond is the Chairman of the company and his sons Edward and Adam hold top posts. Walter, Thomas, and Raymond’s mother Siu-Hing Kwong is a major shareholder and served as Chairwoman of the company from 2008-2011 after brokering a truce between the brothers.

13. McKesson
McKesson Corporation
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Industry: Health Care

Country: United States

Market Cap: $55 billion

Family: McKesson

Comment: McKesson was founded by John McKesson and Charles Olcott in 1833. Today the company is one of the largest in the United States and is a leader in pharmaceutical distribution and healthcare IT. A significant amount of shares are still held by McKesson's descendants.

12. SoftBank
masayoshi son
Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of SoftBank. AP
Industry: Telecommunication Services

Country: Japan

Market Cap: $72 billion

Family: Son

Comment: Masayoshi Son is Japan's second richest man, thanks to the global telecom company he founded in 1981. In addition to its own mobile, Internet, and e-commerce businesses, SoftBank owns 80% of Sprint and 32% of Alibaba. Son is said to be grooming a successor as he prepares to step down from his role as CEO.

11. Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services
REUTERS/Vivek Prakash
Industry: Information Technology

Country: India

Market Cap: $80 billion

Family: Tata

Comment: Like most other Tata Group subsidiaries, Tata Consultancy Services is controlled by promoter and major shareholder Tata Sons. According to Tata Sons' website, about 66 percent of the holding company's shares are held by philanthropic trusts controlled by the Tata family. The company traces its roots to 1868, when it was founded by industrialist Jamsetji Tata.

10. Nike
Phil and Travis Knight
Nike co-founder Phil Knight with his son Travis. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Industry: Consumer Discretionary

Country: United States

Market Cap: $88.2 billion

Family: Knight

Comment: Phil Knight has been the face of the iconic Nike brand since he co-founded the company in 1964. Just last month, however, Nike announced that Knight will step down from his role as Chairman in 2016. His son, Travis Knight, will take a seat on the board to continue the family legacy at the company.

9. Kinder Morgan
Richard Kinder
Richard and Nancy Kinder. AP Images
Industry: Energy

Country: United States

Market Cap: $90 billion

Family: Kinder

Comment: After leaving Enron, Richard Kinder co-founded Kinder Morgan in 1997. With a massive portfolio of oil and gas pipelines, the company is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Kinder and his wife Nancy are major Houston philanthropists through their Kinder Foundation.

8. Volkswagen
Volkswagen GTI
REUTERS/Aly Song
Industry: Consumer Discretionary

Country: Germany

Market Cap: $120 billion

Family: Piëch-Porsche

Comment: Many members of the Piëch-Porsche family together hold a majority stake in Volkswagen through their Porsche Automobile Holding company. The Piëch-Porsches are descendants of Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche, who was also a Nazi party member and designed the first Volkswagen for Adolf Hitler. Today at least five family members sit on the board of Volkswagen. Volkswagen brands include Porsche, Audi, and Bentley.

7. Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Lee Kun-hee
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee walks with daughters Lee Boo-jin (R) and Lee Seo-hyun. REUTERS/Steve Marcus
Industry: Information Technology

Country: South Korea

Market Cap: $174 billion

Family: Lee

Comment: Lee Kun-Hee helped grow his father’s company, Samsung Group, into a global conglomerate. He is chairman of the flagship business, Samsung Electronics, while his son (and expected successor) Jay Y. Lee is vice chairman. Daughters Boo-Jin and Seo-Hyun also hold executive roles within the firm. In 2014, a judge dismissed a suit from Lee Kun-Hee's siblings, all edging that he stole Samsung shares that they were supposed to inherit from their father.

6. Oracle
larry megan david ellison terminator genisys premiere
Oracle founder Larry Ellison with his children, Megan and David. Alex J. Berliner/ABImages
Industry: Information Technology

Country: United States

Market Cap: $192 billion

Family: Ellison

Comment: Larry Ellison is still Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of the software company that helped make him America's third richest man. He stepped down as CEO in September of 2014. While his children, Megan and David, both hold Oracle stock, it's unlikely that they will take over the family business as they are both film producers.

5. Anheuser-Busch InBev
AB InBev
REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Industry: Consumer Staples

Country: Belgium

Market Cap: $197 billion

Family: Lemann, Sicupira, Telles

Comment: Private-equity group 3G Capital was behind the 2008 merger that led to the creation of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Today, 3G Principal Jorge Paulo Lemann — Brazil's richest man — is the brewer's largest shareholder. His partners Carlos Sicupira and Marcel Herrmann Telles also hold large stakes in the company. Together, the three men own about 26% of the company, and Lemann and Telles sit on the board of directors.

4. Facebook
Randi and Mark Zuckerberg with Katy Perry
Randi and Mark Zuckerberg with Katy Perry. Facebook
Industry: Information Technology

Country: United States

Market Cap: $225 billion

Family: Zuckerberg

Comment: Mark Zuckerberg has brought his family into his Facebook empire, which he still owns just under one-third of. His older sister Randi was a marketing executive at the company before leaving to start her own firm. Zuckerberg also gave his father 2,000,000 shares of Facebook stock to thank him for providing him with some money during the company's earliest years.

3. Walmart
Walton Family
Alice, Rob, and Jim Walton, children of Walmart founder Sam Walton. AP Photo/April L. Brown
Industry: Consumer Staples

Country: United States

Market Cap: $241 billion

Family: Walton

Comment: The Walton family owns about half of Walmart through Walton Enterprises, according to Thomson Reuters data. The 50% stake is valuable enough to put five heirs among the wealthiest people in the world. Brothers Rob and Jim Walton sit on the company's Board of Directors, and along with sister Alice and sister-in-law Christy, each have a net worth hovering around $35 billion. Cousins Ann Walton Kroenke and Nancy Walton Laurie are also billionaires from their company shares. Rob Walton's son-in-law Gregory Penner, succeeded him as Walmart's Chairman last month.

2. Roche
Roche
REUTERS/Michael Buholzer
Industry: Health Care

Country: Switzerland

Market Cap: $254 billion

Family: Hoffmann-Oeri

Comment: Fritz Hofmann-La Roche founded a cough syrup company that today develops some of the best cancer drugs in the world. His heirs still control at least half of the company’s bearer shares, according to Bloomberg. The Hoffmann-Oeri family controls the company through their voting pool. The family has at least eight billionaires, including Dr. Andreas Oeri and André Hoffmann who both sit on the drugmaker’s Board of Directors.

1. Novartis
Novartis
REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Industry: Health Care

Country: Switzerland

Market Cap: $279 billion

Family: Sandoz

Comment: Novartis is one of the the world's biggest drug makers, created in 1996 after the merger between Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy. Today, the descendants of Edouard Sandoz (who founded Sandoz in 1886) own a substantial amount of Novartis shares. The Sandoz Family Foundation is the company’s single largest shareholder, and its president, Pierre Landolt, sits on Novartis’ Board of Directors.