You’ve heard of Apple. You definitely know Amazon. But what about the companies that make just as much money—if not more—yet don't have a ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange?
Honestly, it’s kinda wild when you look at the numbers. Most people assume the biggest players are always public because that's where the hype is. But some of the largest private companies in the world are basically the ghosts in the machine of the global economy. They trade the world’s oil, move its grain, and make the candy bars you grab at the checkout line, all while keeping their books mostly shut.
Why stay private? It’s not just about avoiding annoying quarterly earnings calls with Wall Street analysts. It’s about control. When you don’t have shareholders breathing down your neck every three months, you can think in decades.
The Giants Hiding in Plain Sight
If we’re talking about sheer, raw scale, you have to start with Vitol.
Based out of Switzerland and the Netherlands, Vitol is the heavyweight champion of energy trading. Most people have never even heard of them, yet they reported revenue of roughly $331 billion for 2024. To put that in perspective, that’s more than the GDP of many countries. They aren't just "big"; they are foundational. They move over 350 million tonnes of crude oil a year.
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Then there’s Cargill. For 38 out of the last 39 years, it’s been the top dog on Forbes’ list of America’s largest private companies. Even with commodity prices cooling off recently—bringing their fiscal 2025 revenue down to about $154 billion—they remain an absolute titan.
Think about your last meal. Whether it was the beef in your burger or the salt on your fries, there’s a massive chance Cargill touched it. They’ve been family-owned for 160 years. That kind of longevity is almost impossible to maintain in the public markets where the pressure to "exit" or "liquidate" eventually wins out.
The New Industrial Kings
You might have noticed Koch Industries recently rebranded to just Koch, Inc. It wasn't just a cosmetic change. They’re trying to signal a shift from "old school industrial" to a "technology-first" conglomerate. With revenues exceeding $125 billion, they do everything from refining oil to making the Dixie cups in your bathroom.
Over in Europe, the Schwarz Group is the retail equivalent of a stealth bomber. They own Lidl and Kaufland. If you’ve ever shopped at a Lidl, you’ve contributed to a revenue stream that hit 175.4 billion euros (about $180 billion) in fiscal 2024. They are currently out-pacing almost every other European retailer by just... being efficient. And private.
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Why the "Private" Label is Changing in 2026
The definition of a "private" company is getting a bit blurry lately.
Take Mars, Inc. for example. Everyone knows M&Ms and Snickers. But did you know they are now a massive player in vet care? They own VCA and Banfield Pet Hospitals. By July 2025, their annual revenue was sitting at roughly $55 billion.
But here's the kicker: in 2025, Mars cleared a massive $36 billion deal to bring brands like Pringles and Cheez-It (formerly under Kellogg’s/Kellanova) into the family. That’s a "private" company making a move that would make most Fortune 500 CEOs sweat.
The Privacy Advantage
- Long-term R&D: Companies like Rohde & Schwarz (not to be confused with the grocery guys) invest double-digit percentages of their revenue back into R&D. They just hit 3.16 billion euros in revenue for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. Because they don't have to show "profit growth" every quarter, they can dump money into 6G and AI security years before it pays off.
- Employee Ownership: Vitol is owned by about 450 of its senior partners. When the company does well, the people actually doing the work get the payout. In 2024 alone, they reportedly paid out $10.6 billion to their partners.
- Agility: Private firms can pivot. Koch is moving into cloud software (Infor) and medical products because they can. No vote. No proxy battle. Just a decision.
The Counter-Argument: What’s the Catch?
It’s not all sunshine and secret handshakes.
Transparency is the big one. When a company is this large and this private, we only know what they want us to know. If a public company like BP has an oil spill, they are dragged through the mud and forced to disclose every penny of the cleanup. When a massive private trader has a bad year or a legal hiccup, it’s much easier to keep it "in the family."
Also, liquidity for employees can be a nightmare. Unless there’s a buyback program, your "shares" are basically just paper until you retire or the company eventually (and rarely) goes public.
What You Should Watch Next
The landscape is shifting. We’re seeing more "mega-private" companies than ever before because the cost of being public—regulation, litigation, and short-termism—is becoming a burden.
If you're looking to track where the real power lies in the global economy, don't just look at the S&P 500. Keep an eye on the commodity traders in Switzerland and the family-owned conglomerates in the American Midwest.
Actionable Takeaways for 2026:
- Research the supply chain: If you’re an investor or a business owner, look at who supplies the public companies you love. Often, a private giant like Cargill or Koch is the "single point of failure" or the "hidden engine" behind public stocks.
- Monitor the "Private to Public" pipeline: With interest rates stabilizing in 2026, some of these giants might finally test the IPO waters. Watch for "S-1" filings from companies in the $5B–$10B range.
- Study the "Generational" model: If you run a business, look at the Mars or Cargill model of "The World We Want Tomorrow." It’s a blueprint for building a brand that lasts centuries, not just fiscal cycles.
The era of the "celebrity CEO" might be dominated by public figures, but the era of the "trillion-dollar private economy" is just getting started.