Nearly half of the Fortune 500 companies in 2025 were founded by immigrants or their children, highlighting their significant impact on the U.S. economy.
WASHINGTON, DC, August 21, 2025 — A recent analysis of the 2025 Fortune 500 list reveals that 46.2 percent of America’s largest companies—231 out of 500—were founded by immigrants or their children. These companies collectively generated an impressive $8.6 trillion in revenue during the fiscal year 2024 and employed over 15.4 million people worldwide. This data underscores the crucial role that immigrants play in driving innovation, economic growth, and job creation in the United States.
This marks the highest percentage recorded since the American Immigration Council began tracking immigrant entrepreneurs in its annual reviews of the Fortune 500 list in 2011.
“Immigrants are a driving force behind America’s prosperity. We need immigration policies that reflect that, instead of investing billions of dollars into detention, deportation, and making it incredibly difficult for foreign workers to come here or even renew their visas. These reckless policies undermine America’s greatest competitive advantage: the talent and drive of immigrants,” said Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council.
Businesses founded by immigrants or their children have transformed various industries, including technology, retail, and media. Notable companies on the list include Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA, Levi Strauss & Co., Ace Hardware, and Sirius XM Holdings.
Key findings from the analysis reveal that in fiscal year 2024, the Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or their children generated $8.6 trillion in revenue. This revenue, if compared with national GDPs, would rank as the third-largest economy globally.
Furthermore, these companies employed over 15.4 million individuals, a workforce comparable to the population of the fifth-largest U.S. state. Immigrants and their children founded 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies in professional and other services, 65.6 percent in manufacturing, and 57.5 percent in information technology.
Among the 14 companies making their debut on the Fortune 500 list this year, 10 were founded by immigrants or their children.
“Immigrants built nearly half of our Fortune 500 companies, created millions of jobs, and keep our economy competitive. And yet U.S. political leaders are making it increasingly difficult for foreign talent to come here or stay. It’s economic self-sabotage. If we want to stay the world’s innovation leader, we should be welcoming immigrants, not attacking them,” stated Steve Hubbard, senior data scientist at the American Immigration Council.
The American Immigration Council has experts available to provide further insights into the benefits that immigrants bring to the U.S. economy, both at the national and state levels.
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