Methodology 750 Top Family Businesses

Family Capital, with the support of PWC, compiled the 750 ranking through extensive research of publicly available sources. Sourced material was independently verified and no source material was obtained from Family Capital or PWC’s client relationships. The ranking was based on revenues.

In order to qualify for the ranking, the family or group of families would have to control at least 50% of the voting shares in a privately held company and at least 30% of the voting rights in a publicly listed company. The 30% cut-off is motivated by the observation that in most economies, 30% of voting shares are sufficient to dominate the general assembly of a publicly listed company. This is because, on average, 60% of the entire voting shareholders are present at a general assembly of a listed business.

To be considered a family business, Family Capital has selected only companies that are 22 years and older (the year 2000 is the cut-off point). A 20-year time frame corresponds on average with a level of transition from first-generation control to at least some participation of the next generation of the family owners.