2008 “Worst Year” In Fortune 500 History
First Look At Magazine’s Annual List Reveals 84.7% Decline In Profits Among 500 Largest Companies
…2008 was the worst year in the history of the Fortune 500 for America’s largest companies.
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: Insurance giant AIG. The company posted a $99.3 billion loss. But it’s still on the list (”too big to fail” indeed!). It’s ranked at number 245, down from number 13 just one year earlier.
Thirty-eight companies disappeared from the list altogether. Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers may be no surprise, but it was also “last call” for brewer Anheuser Busch.
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