The health of the 500 largest family businesses in the world, which are expanding faster than the entire economy, is crucial. They are the third-largest national economy in terms of revenue, after the US and China, and employ 24.5 million people globally across 47 different jurisdictions. The 2023 EY and University of St.Gallen Family Business Index, which is a rating of the 500 largest family firms in the world by revenue and published every two years, includes these conclusions among others.
More than 76% of the companies featured on the 2023 index have been around for more than 50 years, and 31% are older than 100 years. Longevity and stability are still hallmarks of these businesses. Their board arrangements, where family members hold over a quarter of board seats (23%) and nearly half (45%) of CEO positions, further support this.
Although the majority of the index’s companies (46% of them) are situated in Europe, the US is the most important individual jurisdiction (24%). Approximately half of the enterprises in the index are based in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa (EMEIA), 34% are based in the Americas, and 16% are based in Asia-Pacific. Since the index’s debut in 2015, the Asia-Pacific region’s contribution has steadily increased, rising from 12% to 16% this year. Due to their dominance in the Americas, consumer-based family companies dominate the index in terms of industry sectors (37%). Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility companies come in second (29%) since they dominate in EMEIA and Asia-Pacific.

Source: Prnewswire