Nearly half of the Fortune 500 companies in 2025 were founded by immigrants or their children, generating $8.6 trillion in revenue and employing over 15 million people worldwide.
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 more than 15.4 million people globally. This data underscores the vital role that immigrants play in fostering innovation, driving economic growth, and creating jobs 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,” stated Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council.
Companies founded by immigrants or their children are transforming various industries, including technology, retail, and media. Notable names on the list include Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA, Levi Strauss & Co., Ace Hardware, and Sirius XM Holdings.
Key findings from the analysis highlight the significant impact of these immigrant-founded companies:
In fiscal year 2024, the Fortune 500 companies established by immigrants or their children generated $8.6 trillion in revenue, which, if compared to national GDPs, would rank as the third-largest economy in the world.
These companies employ over 15.4 million people, 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 appearing on the Fortune 500 list for the first time 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,” remarked Steve Hubbard, senior data scientist at the American Immigration Council.
The American Immigration Council has experts available to discuss further the benefits that immigrants bring to the U.S. economy at both national and state levels.
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