U.S. · Blue Origin · Fortune Technology
As America readies to celebrate its 250th birthday, a handful of its largest firms are marking a different kind
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Among the recently-released 2026 Fortune 500 —a ranking of the largest U.S. corporations based annual revenue—several firms trace their roots to the 18th century.
Key facts
- Among the recently-released 2026 Fortune 500 —a ranking of the largest U.S. corporations based annual revenue—several firms trace their roots to the 18th century
- Molson Coors Beverage Company, the brewer behind brands including Coors, Miller, and Blue Moon, traces its origins to 1774, when William Worthington began brewing in Burton upon Trent, England
- Sylla, coauthor of the report “Scale and Scope in Early American Business History: The ‘Fortune 500’ of 1812”, noted many of the country’s earliest dominant companies were banks—an early clue
- And one company in the Fortune 500 reaches even further back to a time before the United States declared independence
Summary
As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, a handful of its largest companies are marking a different kind of milestone: histories that stretch back nearly to the nation’s founding—or even before it existed. And one company in the Fortune 500 reaches even further back to a time before the United States declared independence. Molson Coors Beverage Company, the brewer behind brands including Coors, Miller, and Blue Moon, traces its origins to 1774, when William Worthington began brewing in Burton upon Trent, England. “My beer has been universally well-liked beyond my most sanguine expectations,” Molson once wrote of his early success.