# What's the biggest (US) company you've never heard of? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613 "2014-11-25T17:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613/61 "2014-11-27T04:43:13Z")
Technically Berkshire Hathaway, because I just knew it as Warren Buffet. Beyond that, it’s Express-Scripts for one I wasn’t sure about (but I vaguely remember them), but I wasn’t stopped in my tracks until Archer Daniels Midland. The next one I didn’t know was Energy Transfer Equity, followed by INTL FCStone, Johnson Controls, TIAA-CREF, and General Dynamics to round out the top 100. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613/62 "2014-11-27T17:26:29Z")
#10 Valero. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613/63 "2014-11-27T17:52:10Z")
I’ve never heard of Berkshire Hathaway or Phillips 66. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613/64 "2014-11-27T18:06:56Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Fascinating. As a Healthcare guy, I know of McKesson, Cardinal and ExpressScripts - interesting to hear how unknown they are outside the industry. Same here. I was in meetings with Mckesson and ExpressScripts folks(different meetings) on Tuesday. Never had direct contact with Cardinal, but I’m familiar with them. To answer the thread question my first was 70 Plains GP Holdings, L.P. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613/65 "2014-11-27T18:29:36Z")
Berkshire Hathaway at number 4- but I am not American. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613/66 "2014-11-27T19:29:07Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’d actually have trouble articulating what exactly IBM does these days, though obviously I’ve heard of them. Interestingly, I went on an interview with IBM Global Solutions a few years ago. Most of the interview consisted of a team project where they grouped the candidates into teams of 5 or 6 and had us present a case study about some fictitious landscaping company. And they were telling us stories about how IBM saved some mining company money by doing this that and the other thing. So basically, I gather that IBM is mostly management and technology consulting services, similar to Accenture. Which admittedly probably doesn’t really help explain what they “do”. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613/67 "2014-11-27T22:09:27Z")
Never heard of United Healthwhatever or Express Scripts, and quite a few of the energy companies below 50 are unknown to me as well. I’m in pharma, so McKesson and Cardinal are big names. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-us-company-youve-never-heard-of/705613.md?page=3)