Forbes Unveils Its Inaugural Ranking Of The Top Family Businesses Featuring America’s Biggest Family Companies Driving Jobs, Growth And Generational Success

NEW YORK, NY – May 14th – Forbes unveiled the launch of its newest list, America’s Largest Family Businesses, the definitive ranking of America’s biggest family firms by revenue, spotlighting those companies driving revenue and growth, while also expanding generational wealth and success.

This list comes at a time when family businesses have become “the quiet engine driving the economy,” says Byron Trott, the legendary chairman and co-CEO of merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners, in an op-ed for Forbes published Wednesday. From grocery stores like Wegmans to hotels like Marriott and Hyatt and some of the most popular consumer products like M&Ms and Perdue’s chicken, family businesses span many different industries and are some of the leading companies within their respective spaces.

Key Trends and Highlights Defining Inaugural America’s Top Family Business List:

• Most family businesses are still privately-owned: Of the 100 family businesses on Forbes’ ranking, roughly two-thirds (67) are still privately owned, while one-third (33) are publicly traded.
• Largest private family business: The largest private family business by revenue is $154 billion food and agriculture giant Cargill, with the descendants of founder William Wallace Cargill owning 88% of the company.
• Largest public family business: The biggest public family business is $713 billion (sales) Walmart, whose late founder Sam Walton’s (d. 1992) heirs still control 44% of the company and have chaired its board since his death.
• Oldest: The oldest business on Forbes’ list is Levi Strauss & Co., whose founding Haas family still owns 54% of the 174-year-old firm that invented blue jeans after taking it public for the second time in 2019.
• Youngest: The youngest business is Charlotte-based car retailer Sonic Automotive, which got its start in 1997–the same year it IPO’d–and is still 44% owned by the descendants of founder O. Bruton Smith (d. 2022).
• Overall impact: America’s family businesses account for 25% of U.S. companies and 23% of the American workforce, according to one recent estimate by leading academics. They drive much of the economy selling everything from cars to cable to catfood.
• The family businesses on Forbes’ ranking are based all over the country, in 31 different states, ranging from Arizona to Wisconsin to North Carolina.

“Family businesses have long been one of the defining forces of the American economy, combining entrepreneurial ambition with a long-term commitment to employees, customers and communities. As a family-founded company with more than a century of history, Forbes understands firsthand the values that drive these businesses,” said Luisa Kroll, Executive Editor, Forbes. “While these companies often operate outside the spotlight, particularly in this age of AI giants, they are deeply influential in communities across the country. In recognition of their impact, Forbes combined deep reporting, extensive financial analysis and consultation with leading family business experts and academics to create what is the definitive ranking of America’s top family businesses.”

As a part of the America’s Top Family Businesses package, Forbes has also published the following feature stories:

For the full America’s Largest Family Businesses List and package, visit:

ForbesAmerica’s Largest Family Businesses

The 2026 Forbes America’s Largest Family Businesses is presented by Corient.

Forbes will dive deeper into conversations around family businesses at the first-ever Forbes Family Business Summit, an intimate gathering designed for leaders of multigenerational family businesses. The Summit will create a private, candid environment where speakers such as Chase Koch, of Koch, Inc, Byron Trott of BDT & MSD Partners, Dee Haslam and Whitney Haslam Johnson of Haslam Sports Group, Jim Perdue of Perdue Farms, Andrew and Andrea Cherng of Panda Restaurant Group, and more can reflect on the decisions that shape continuity from how they steward wealth, evolve governance and prepare successors, to the investing strategies that reflect their long-term values.

Corient is the Title Sponsor for the 2026 Forbes Family Business Summit.

Media Contacts:

Christina Vega Magrini, cmagrini@forbes.com

Feryal Nawaz, fnawaz@forbes.com