When America’s Six Most Valuable Companies Were Founded: The Times Keep Moving

Originally published 2021-11-01Data observations with Robin’s commentary

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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above

English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2021-11-01. Translated 2026-10-27 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文

Reading guide

In late October 2021, Microsoft overtook Apple in U.S. market capitalization by less than 0.5%. The top six companies’ founding years are revealing: Microsoft in 1975 and Apple in 1976 belong to the PC era; Amazon in 1994 and Google in 1998 to the internet era; Tesla in 2003 and Facebook in 2004 to the millennium generation. Google was only 23 years old yet worth nearly US$2 trillion. Robin’s reflection: over another 30 years, times and trends will keep moving quickly; the question is whether you grasp them. U.S. capital markets are highly efficient and encourage innovation, and Taiwan should move in that direction. Values and rankings refer to October 30, 2021.

Key points

The top six span the PC, internet, and millennium eras.
Google was worth nearly US$2 trillion at age 23, as of 2021.
Times and trends keep advancing; the key is whether you grasp them.
U.S. capital markets encourage innovation; Taiwan should move in that direction.

Columns and beams in an open building are connected by central rods and balanced weights, suggesting structure and checks in governance. — Capital markets & governanceThematic illustration · AI generated

Full text — English translation

The ten largest U.S. companies by market capitalization (2021/10/30). Microsoft has overtaken Apple again, but the gap is less than 0.5% and can change at any time. Founded in 1998, Google has reached nearly US$2 trillion in market value in 23 years. Let us look at when the top six were founded: Microsoft, 1975/4/4 Apple, 1976/4/1 Google, 1998/9/4 Amazon, 1994/7/5 Tesla, 2003/7/1 Facebook, 2004/2 The first- and second-ranked companies were founded in 1975–1976 (the PC era). Third and fourth were founded in 1998 and 1994 (the internet era). Fifth and sixth were founded in 2003–2004 (the millennium generation?). Look another 30 years ahead: times and trends are still moving rapidly. The question is whether you grasp them. Google is still only 23, and Facebook just 17. U.S. capital markets are extremely efficient and encourage innovation. Taiwan must move in that direction too.

These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.

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