New American Fortune 500 in 2021: Top American Companies and Their Immigrant Roots

Immigrant entrepreneurs have long been an important part of America’s economic success story. Some of the largest and most recognizable American companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants, including household names such as Apple and Costco, as well as newcomers to the Fortune 500 list like Moody’s and Chewy. Even the toy manufacturer Hasbro was created by the Hassenfeld brothers who emigrated from Poland to Rhode Island in the early 1900s. Since [New American Economy’s] first New American Fortune 500 report in 2011, NAE found that more than two out of every five Fortune 500—the 500 largest corporation by revenue in the country—had at least one immigrant or child-of-immigrant founder. This pattern has continued over the years since. This year, [New American Economy found] that 44 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.