• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
LeadershipDonald Trump

Donald Trump Now Owns the 48th Largest Private Company In the U.S.

By
Kevin Lui
Kevin Lui
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kevin Lui
Kevin Lui
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 16, 2016, 2:01 AM ET
President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At Trump Tower
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: President-elect Donald Trump pauses to briefly speak to the media at Trump Tower on December 6, 2016 in New York City. Potential members of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet have been meeting with him and his transition team of the last few weeks. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Spencer Platt—Getty Images

The President-elect has another thing to celebrate. His company is now the 48th biggest private company in the country, reports CNNMoney, citing information from PrivCo.

The financial research firm released its latest rankings of the top 250 privately-held U.S. businesses Tuesday. The Trump Organization rose through the ranks, making the leap into the top 50 from 62nd place last year.

CNNMoney reports that, in 2015, the Trump Organization had a revenue of $9.5 billion, and that it currently employs a workforce of 22,450. That’s bigger than McKinsey, the global consultancy firm, or Bloomberg L.P., the finance and news company run by New York billionaire and ex-mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Unlike publicly-listed companies, privately-held firms—including the Trump Organization—are under no legal obligation to reveal as much information about themselves as their counterparts listed on stock exchanges must. Investors usually rely on information from the companies themselves, or firms like PrivCo, to track their latest movements.

Taking the top three spots in the PrivCo table are food and agriculture group Cargill, Koch Industries and insurer State Farm Mutual respectively.

Current federal laws restricting conflicts of interest do not apply to the presidency, but presidents are expected to adhere to the spirit of those laws. The news about the Trump Organization’s growth could cause even more unease over potential conflicts of interest that may arise when Trump steps into the Oval Office. Symbolizing them is the hotel just a few blocks down from the White House.

The situation has prompted what appear to be snarky tweets from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, while President Barack Obama’s former ethics counsel called the unexplained presence of Trump’s daughter Ivanka at a meeting between the President-Elect and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe “something out of a tin-pot oligarchy.”

Trump announced through Twitter earlier this week that the he will leave Trump Organization’s management to sons Donald Jr. and Eric alongside other executives, and said that the company will not conduct new deals while he is in office.

But he also delayed from this week to January a scheduled public appearance on how he plans to step back from his business empire . (It has been suggested that, despite calling it a “blind trust,” handing over his vast business empire to his eldest children will not provide any meaningful barrier between the presidencies of the U.S. and the Trump Organization.)

For more on Donald Trump’s many conflicts of interest, watch this video:

The revelation of Trump’s role as executive producer on NBC’s The New Celebrity Apprentice, which will premiere on the Comcast-owned network just 18 days before Inauguration Day, is the latest example of potential conflation between Trump the president and Trump the businessman that’s provoked public outcry.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune.

About the Author
By Kevin Lui
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

yale
PoliticsColleges and Universities
Teacher, blame thyself: Yale report savages Ivy League schools for destroying American trust in higher education
By Nick LichtenbergApril 15, 2026
38 minutes ago
People protesting against tax giants.
PoliticsTaxes
How a free tax filing system from the government went from 296,000 users to zero in just one year
By Catherina GioinoApril 15, 2026
3 hours ago
Boss has lunch with her workers outside
Successcompany culture
A $24 billion Dutch lender is cutting its workforce—and to get the remaining staff on board, the CEO is having sandwiches with them
By Emma BurleighApril 15, 2026
6 hours ago
Sal Khan
SuccessEducation
This CEO has teamed up with Google, Microsoft, and McKinsey to build an AI degree that could rival Harvard—and it will cost only $10,000 to attend
By Preston ForeApril 15, 2026
6 hours ago
Why insurance giant Travelers’ CTO is placing fewer, bigger bets on AI
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
Why insurance giant Travelers’ CTO is placing fewer, bigger bets on AI
By John KellApril 15, 2026
7 hours ago
horowitz
AIdisruption
A16z’s Ben Horowitz sees ‘AI anxiety’ consuming Silicon Valley founders. Workers’ fear of something else is killing adoption
By Nick LichtenbergApril 15, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated again—a week after gifting millions to a college, she's just given $70 million to Meals on Wheels America
Success
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated again—a week after gifting millions to a college, she's just given $70 million to Meals on Wheels America
By Fortune EditorsApril 13, 2026
2 days ago
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
Environment
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
By Fortune EditorsApril 15, 2026
7 hours ago
Retirees are facing a $345,000 bill they never saw coming — and most aren't prepared
Commentary
Retirees are facing a $345,000 bill they never saw coming — and most aren't prepared
By Fortune EditorsApril 14, 2026
1 day ago
Palantir CEO says working at his $316 billion software company is better than a degree from Harvard or Yale: ‘No one cares about the other stuff’
Success
Palantir CEO says working at his $316 billion software company is better than a degree from Harvard or Yale: ‘No one cares about the other stuff’
By Fortune EditorsApril 14, 2026
1 day ago
Warren Buffett’s first tax return showed $7 owed to the IRS. The then paperboy and former Berkshire Hathaway CEO is now worth $143 billion
Success
Warren Buffett’s first tax return showed $7 owed to the IRS. The then paperboy and former Berkshire Hathaway CEO is now worth $143 billion
By Fortune EditorsApril 14, 2026
1 day ago
Anthropic is facing a wave of user backlash over reports of performance issues with its Claude AI chatbot
AI
Anthropic is facing a wave of user backlash over reports of performance issues with its Claude AI chatbot
By Fortune EditorsApril 14, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.