History's Most Valuable Companies vs Mag 7

Key takeaways

• Historic companies from the 17th and 18th century were once worth trillions of dollars by today’s standards, thanks to monopolies on trade and speculation. 
• This graphic compares the valuation of these companies to today’s Mag-7 heavyweights

How powerful was the Dutch East India Company?

Companies like the Dutch East India Company (known in Dutch as the VOC) were granted monopolies on trade, and they engaged in daring voyages to mysterious and foreign places. They could acquire exotic goods, establish colonies, create military forces, and even initiate wars or conflicts around the world.

Despite its 200-year run as Europe’s foremost trading juggernaut – the speculative peak of the company’s prospects coincided with Tulip Mania in Holland in 1637. 

Widely considered the world’s first financial bubble, the history of Tulip Mania is a fantastic story in itself. During this frothy time, the Dutch East India Company was worth 78 million Dutch guilders, which translates to a whopping $10.2 trillion in today’s dollars.