Daily Archives: Jan. 8, 2009

Koch grows but falls to No. 2 among nation’s largest private companies

Cargill’s growth in 2008 — not Koch’s decrease — was responsible in the two reversing positions in the top two spots as America’s largest private companies, according to Forbes.

Forbes’ ranking pushed Cargill to No. 1 in 2008 with total revenue at $110.63 billion, a considerable jump from the Minnesota-based company’s No. 2 standing at $82.49 billion. Meanwhile, Forbes’ most recent report showed Koch’s revenues at $98 billion, an increase of $8 billion over what the magazine reported for the Wichita-based company in 2007.

As of November, Forbes estimated Koch’s employee total at 80,000 — the same total it reported for the company the in November 2007. Cargill showed a slight increase with 152,600 employees in ’08 — 1,800 more than Forbes listed in ’07.

Watch ‘NewsHour’ segment from Wichita

As Carrie Rengers wrote last week and Bill Wilson mentioned on the blog yesterday, PBS’s “NewHour with Jim Lehrer” was in Wichita to do a story on burdens of health care on small businesses and their employees.

It was a well-done piece. A significant amount of the story focused on Tillie’s Flower Shop.

From owner Ken Denton:

For us, for example, the people that had the insurance here are people that really need it. And it’s the older group and it’s a group that utilizes it more than anyone else. And it drives the cost up. And the young people, who don’t necessarily need it, drop out.

If you missed the program, you can view it on the PBS Web site. Here’s a link to the video.