The 10 CorporationsThat Control AlmostEverythingYouBuy
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We know the ten "people" thatruntheworld, that 25 citiesrepresentoverhalftheworld’sGDP, and that the world’sbillionaires control a stunning $33 trillioninnetworth… but who controls what the average joe-sixpack on Main Street buys? As PolicyMic notes, these ten mega corporations control the output ofalmosteverythingwebuy – from household products to pet food and from jeans to jello. The so-called "IllusionofChoice," that these corporations (and their nepotistic inter-relationships) create is remarkable…
(clickimageforgigantic legible version)
(Note: Thechartshows a mixofnetworks. Parentcompaniesmayown, ownsharesof, ormaysimplypartnerwiththeirbranchnetworks. Forexample, Coca-Cola doesnotownMonster, butdistributestheenergydrink. Another note: We are notsurehowup-to-date thechartis. Forexample, it has notbeenupdatedtoreflect P&G’s sale ofPringlestoKellogg’sinFebruary.)
Here are just a few examples: Yum Brands owns KFC and Taco Bell. The company was a spin-off of Pepsi. AllYumBrandsrestaurantssellonlyPepsiproductsbecauseof a specialpartnershipwiththe soda-maker.
$84 billion-company Proctor & Gamble — the largest advertiser in the U.S. — is paired with a number of diverse brands that produce everything from medicine to toothpaste to high-end fashion. All tallied, P&G reportedly serves a whopping 4.8 billionpeoplearoundtheworldthroughthisnetwork.
$200 billion-corporationNestle — famous for chocolate, but which is the biggest food company in the world — owns nearly 8,000 differentbrandsworldwide, and takesstakeinorispartneredwith a swathofothers. Included in this network is shampoo company L’Oreal, baby food giant Gerber, clothing brand Diesel, and pet food makers Purina and Friskies.
Unilever, ofsoapfame, reportedly serves 2 billionpeoplearoundtheworld, controlling a networkthat produces everythingfrom Q-tipstoSkippypeanutbutter.
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