Wayne Enterprises, Stark Industries, Tyrell Corp., Oscorp are some of the most admired companies that exist in the fictional world of TV shows, comics, and movies. Ever wondered what they would be like if they existed in the real-world? Which ones will be the largest fictional companies in real life and how would they compare against the real-world corporate juggernauts?
The curious folks at European payment service provider Paymentsense analyzed the revenues, business models, earnings, and ‘success’ to create an exhaustive list of 25 of the largest fictional companies from comics, movies, and TV shows. Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries are not even in the top three. Paymentsense also listed relevant real-world companies they could be compared to. Here are some of the largest fictional companies, and the comparable real-world companies:
1- Very Big Corp. of America
The Very Big Corp. of America featured in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983). It is by far the largest company in the fictional world with estimated revenues of £175.13 billion ($227.17 billion). It’s comparable to Apple, which had revenues of $229.2 billion last year.
2- Clampett Oil
This oil industry heavyweight appeared in the 1962 movie The Beverly Hillbillies. Headed by Jed Clampett, Clampett Oil had annual revenue of £101.92 billion or $133.4 billion. It is comparable to Chevron Corporation, which had revenues of $141.7 billion last year.
3- Globex
Globex, the high-tech giant, featured in the 8th season of the iconic TV show The Simpsons. It had a revenue of £83.77 billion, which is comparable to Google parent Alphabet’s annual revenue of $110 billion.
4- Walley World
The ‘America’s Favorite Family Fun Park’ had annual revenues of £42.02 billion ($54.49 billion). It’s comparable to The Walt Disney Company, which had a revenue of $55.13 billion in 2017.
5- Stark Industries
This weapons manufacturing giant belongs to Iron Man Tony Stark. According to Paymentsense, Stark Industries had annual revenue of £38.99 billion ($50.5 billion), making it one of the largest fictional companies. It is comparable to Lockheed Martin ($51.04 billion), at least in terms of revenue. Paymentsense also claims that Tony Stark is the richest superhero in the fictional universe.
6- Nakatomi Trading Corporation
I’m a die-hard fan of the Die Hard franchise. Nakatomi, which was throwing a grand Christmas party in the 1988 Die Hard, had estimated revenues of £33.08 billion or $42.9 billion. It is comparable to Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, which is one of the world’s largest diversified corporations.
7- Wonka Industries
Who knew Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory would be as big as Mars in real life? The chocolate maker from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory had a revenue of £26.73 billion ($34.66 billion). By comparison, Mars posted revenues of $35 billion last year.
8- Soul Glo
The fashion and beauty giant Soul Glo appeared in the 1988 movie Coming To America. With £23.03 billion of annual revenue, it is comparable to L’Oreal, which registered revenue of $30.12 billion last year.
9- Wayne Enterprises
Batman is quite often compared to Iron Man. I’m not going to talk about which superhero would win a one-on-one fight. But at least in terms of revenue, Bruce Wayne’s Wayne Enterprises lags far behind Tony Stark’s Stark Industries. Wayne Enterprises had an estimated revenue of £18.32 ($23.7 billion), which is comparable to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
10- Big Kahuna Burger
If Big Kahuna Burger from the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction were a real company, it would be as big as McDonald’s, which had a revenue of $22.82 billion last year. Paymentsense estimates Big Kahuna Burger had annual revenues of £17.42 billion ($22.57 billion), which is enough to keep it among the top ten of the largest fictional companies.
Here are the remaining 15 enterprises in Paymentsense’s list of the largest fictional companies:
These companies do not exist in real life, but there is a lot we can learn from them.
