I was surprised to discover that only a very small number of companies have managed to retain their status as the “most valuable companies” over the past 36 years, from 1989 to 2025. I observed how circumstances change, and positions shift, how the expensive can become cheap and vice versa. It became clear that nothing lasts forever, and the wise anticipate all changes and conditions.
For instance, a barrel of oil once reached $147 in 2008, only to fall below $60 today. The revenues earned from selling oil at those peak prices may have been lost or squandered, often on trivial matters. Such unjustified waste cannot be ignored, and the government still has a long way to go. The oil company ExxonMobil dominated globally from 1989 to 1996 without interruption. Its roots trace back to the giant Standard Oil Company, founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller and his partners in Ohio. Standard Oil had successfully monopolized nearly all aspects of petroleum in the United States, from exploration and drilling to extraction, transportation, and sales. This led US lawmakers to intervene in 1911, breaking the company into smaller entities.
Standard Oil’s practices earned Rockefeller the title of “Public Enemy Number One” for bankrupting most of his competitors. Thus, the historical legacy of Standard Oil is deeply intertwined with Rockefeller and his 19th-century ventures. Then, in 1997 and 1998, Coca-Cola held the title of the most valuable company. I wrote several articles about it back when the press was more flexible, noting that its brand value had reached $50 million in the 1960s, which was a remarkable figure for an intangible asset that had no real estate, factories, or production facilities. Looking back, I realize how naive I was, and perhaps I still am. The global rise of “logic,” intelligence, and “mind companies” began with Microsoft’s position as the most valuable company in 1999 and 2000, driven by its innovative software.
ExxonMobil briefly regained the top spot, only for Microsoft to reclaim it in 2001, before losing it again in 2002, 2003, and 2004. ExxonMobil returned to the forefront from 2005 until 2012, then disappeared completely. The year 2012 marked a turning point, signaling the complete dominance of companies focused on intelligence, artificial intelligence, software, and innovative ideas, such as Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, while firms in oil, banking, automotive, real estate, and investment sectors declined. Apple led from 2013 to 2018, followed by Microsoft in 2019, and then Apple again from 2020 to 2025. Nvidia, the world’s largest manufacturer of graphics processors, video cards, computer chipsets, and gaming systems, relies on chip memory produced by South Korean giants Samsung and SK Hynix.
By the end of 2025, Nvidia’s market capitalization reached $4.6 trillion and is projected to increase by over $130 billion in the first days of 2026, making it not only the most valuable but arguably one of the most powerful and influential companies in the world. Sales of Nvidia products to countries like China require approval from the US government. Most of the companies mentioned earlier are American, some of which once dominated the global market only to later fall from the top. History offers valuable lessons, so are we ready to learn from them?
By Ahmad alsarraf
e-mail: [email protected]
e-mail: [email protected]
