What is the oldest company in the world? When was the oldest company in the world founded? Let's find out together!
Today's largest, most famous companies are mostly teenagers in the business history books—in no small part because their major activities were only possible since the industrial revolution. Microsoft, for example, didn't come into existence until 1975.
We know that corporate longevity depends on economic fluctuations around the world. An estimated one-third of the companies on the Fortune 500 list in 1970 had disappeared by 1983, through mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcy, or liquidation.
Of course, it is difficult to calculate the exact age of companies. We cannot always say with certainty whether certain companies are truly long-standing, continuing businesses or whether newer companies were once trade associations, government entities, or the result of mergers or acquisitions.
Without going into the complicated date calculations, let's take a look at some of the companies that have stood the test of time around the world!
It is estimated that there are more than 5,500 long-standing companies operating in the world, located in many countries such as Japan (3,146), Germany (837), the Netherlands (222), France (196).
A company is considered to be old if it has been in operation for more than 200 years since its establishment.
Here are some of the oldest companies still in operation today.
1. Kongo Gumi
Kongo Gumi is considered the oldest company still in operation in the world. It was founded in 578 AD to build the Seiganto-ji Buddhist temple in Osaka, and has been around for 14 centuries. For 1,400 years, Kongo Gumi was a family-run company until it became a subsidiary of Takamatsu in 2006. Prior to the merger, Kongo Gumi had annual revenues of about $70 million. The company is still active in the construction of Buddhist temples.
2. Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan
Founded in 705 AD, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, a hot spring hotel located in Hayakawa, Japan is the 2nd oldest company in the world and the oldest hotel in the world.
The hotel is built mainly from wood and stone, in traditional Japanese architectural style.
3. Koman Ryokan
Founded in 707 AD, Koman Hotel was originally a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan.
Ryokan inns are designed in the style of separate houses, with gardens and private gates for each guest.
4. Hoshi Ryokan
Hoshi Ryokan was founded by the monk Taicho Daishi in 718 AD. Nestled at the foot of Mount Hakusan in Awazu Village on the island of Honshu, Japan, Hoshi Ryokan has been run by the same family for 46 generations.
5. Genda Shigyo
Genda Shigyo was founded in 771. The company's original product was Mizuhiki, decorative, multi-colored strings made of paper, similar to today's ribbons, often used in important human rituals, from birth to funerals.
Since World War II, the company has also sold items to go with its mizuhiki strings.
6. Stiftskeller St.Peter
Stiftskeller St.Peter is the 6th oldest company in the world, the oldest in Europe, and the oldest restaurant in the world. The company operates in the restaurant industry, built in 803 AD in the monastery of St. Peter's Archbbey in Austria. After more than 1200 years of history, this restaurant still retains its original style, with a high historical significance.
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