《财富》世界500强排行榜的今昔变迁 / Changing Trends in the Global 500

第一份《财富》500强排行榜诞生于1955年，当时上榜的仅限于美国公司。1957年，美国之外的大公司首次拥有了专门的排行榜。自诞生之初起，《财富》杂志的编辑们就决定将收入作为企业排名的主要依据，因为收入是衡量增长和成功最可靠、最有证明力、也最有意义的指标。

1976年，第一份国际500强排行榜出炉，但仅包括美国之外的公司。

直到1995年，第一份包含了美国和其他各国企业在内的综合榜单才正式问世：这也是第一份真正意义上的世界500强排行榜。这份榜单后来常被作为基准，用来对企业、行业或国家之间历年的表现进行数据对比。

在1995年的第一份《财富》世界500强排行榜上，日本企业占主导地位，上榜数量达149家，总收入占所有上榜企业的37%。

相比之下，（基于2011年经营业绩评定出的）2012年世界500强排行榜上只有68家日本企业，也就是说自1995年达到顶峰之后，日本企业在世界500强排行榜上日渐式微，无论是数量上，还是收入占比情况。

美国公司的巅峰时刻是在2001年，上榜公司数量达到了197家，总收入占所有上榜企业的42%。在2012年的榜单上，美国公司上榜数为139家，总收入占所有上榜企业的29%。

当然，在中国广为人知的是，跻身《财富》世界500强的中国大陆企业（包括香港在内）从1995年的3家增加到了今年的73家。同时，中国企业在榜上的总收入占比情况也从不足1%增加到了13.5%。

在今年入围的73家中国公司中，有68家是国有企业。它们来自各行各业，但最多的还是工业、金融服务和能源企业。

由于今年表现强劲，中国已取代日本晋身排行榜亚军，而美国仍然牢牢地占据着冠军的位置。

从1995年起，每年都出现在世界500强排行榜上的一家中国企业是——中国银行。

苏安迪告诉听众，根据他和同事们的预测，上榜的中国企业在今后一两年之内将达到110家。

如果能保持这个势头，中国企业可能用不了5年就会在这份排行榜上成为老大。

近年来，上榜公司数量迅速增加的国家还包括印度、巴西和俄罗斯。

回头想想，真正的《财富》世界500强排行榜只能追溯到1995年，但此举意义重大，它真实地反映出了近年来世界贸易全球化以及大型跨国企业不断增长的现象。

除了上榜中国企业的数量和收入显著增长外，有时会被忽视的一个问题是入围的非国有企业正在迅速增加。虽然中国上榜的73家企业中确实有68家都是国企，但入围的非国有企业在很短时间内就增加了5倍。在我看来，这种势头还会持续。

The first Fortune 500 list was published in 1955, but included only US companies. In 1957, a separate list of the largest companies outside the US was published. From the beginning, Fortune editors determined that a company's revenue would be the key denominator of ranking, since it is the single most reliable, verifiable, and meaningful indicator of relative growth and success.

In 1976, the first international 500 list was published, but this was comprised solely of companies outside the U.S.

It wasn't until 1995 that the first combined list of U.S. and international companies was published: in effect, the first Global 500 list. It is this 1995 list which is often used as the baseline for comparisons with subsequent years' performance data, of companies, industry sectors, countries, etc.

That first Fortune Global 500 ranking in 1995 was dominated by Japanese companies, which numbered 149 on the list, and together represented some 37% of total revenues of all companies on the list.

By comparison, the current 2012 list (based on 2011 company results) has only 68 Japanese companies. In other words, from their peak in 1995, Japanese companies' position on the list has shrunk, both in number and share of revenue.

US companies peaked in number in 2001, with 197 making the top 500, contributing 42% of total revenues. In the 2012 list, US companies number 139, representing 29% of total revenues.

Of course, a story very well known in China is the remarkable growth of Chinese companies on the Fortune Global 500 list, from only 3 in 1995 to 73 on the current list. During that same time period, Chinese companies' share of total revenue grew from less than 1% to 13.5%.

Of the 73 companies on the current list, 68 are state-owned enterprises. A wide variety of industries are represented, with an especially strong showing in the industrial, financial services and energy sectors.

With this year's strong showing, China overtook Japan in the number two spot, with the US remaining in first place.

The one Chinese company which has been on the Global 500 list each year from 1995 through the present is Bank of China.

As Andy Serwer told the audience, he and his colleagues estimate that within the next two years or so, there could be 110 Chinese companies on the list.

If that trend line continues, that raises the very interesting prospect of Chinese companies taking first place on the list within the next 5 years or so.

Other countries whose companies have grown dramatically in number on the list in recent years include India, Brazil and Russia.

In hindsight, it is significant that the history of the true Fortune Global 500 list dates only as far back as 1995. That is a reflection of how recent a phenomenon the globalization of world trade and the growth of large global companies really is.

Apart from the phenomenal growth in number and revenue of Chinese companies on the list, one fact sometimes overlooked has been the rapid growth of non State-owned enterprises on the list. It's true that 68 of the current 73 are SOEs, but that's still a five-fold increase in the number of non-SOEs within a very short time frame. My own view is that is a trend line which will continue.