These 40+ American Companies Are No Longer American
Many brilliant companies – from Apple to Starbucks – have been founded in the United States, starting out as small ventures to become international leaders in their fields. However, the world of business isn’t always as straightforward as it looks. Regardless of how well-rooted a company’s American history is, it doesn’t mean that it will always belong to Uncle Sam.
In fact, many quintessentially American brands are no longer American-owned at all. From Ben and Jerry’s to IBM and Holiday Inn, overseas investors have played a big part in keeping these companies moving forward. Without them stepping in, some of them may have ceased to exist altogether.
1. Popsicle
Original Headquarters: Oakland, California
Purchased By: Unilever
Country: England
Popsicle has such an interesting history that it’s almost Hollywood. The recipe was created by 11-year-old Oakland native Francis Epperson when he accidentally left a drink outside overnight with a stick in it. When he returned to it the next day, it was a popsicle. As an adult, he released the product to the world and it was an instant hit.
Just three years later in 1925, Epperson sold the rights to the Joe Lowe company, a move which he later regretted, stating “I haven’t been the same since.” Epperson’s rival Good Humor bought the Popsicle in 1989, but by then was a subsidiary of Unilever, making the Oakland-born Popsicle a British-Dutch owned creation.
2. Ben & Jerry’s
Original Headquarters: South Burlington, Vermont
Purchased By: Unilever
Country: England
Ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s has made a name for itself as a pop-culture staple. The brand is mentioned in countless movies and TV shows as one of America’s most-beloved foods. The origin story is sweet too, with best friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opening their own parlor in 1978.
In 2000, Ben & Jerry’s announced it had been bought by London-based conglomerate Unilever. The deal was struck for $326 million, with Unilever being the highest bidder out of three different companies looking to make the takeover. The purchase helped to boost Unilever’s portfolio.
3. Burger King
Original Headquarters: Miami, Florida
Purchased By: Restaurant Brands International
Country: Canada
Fast food has long since been an institution in the United States, with many names, including Burger King, making a huge amount of profit. James McLamore and David Egerton first opened their store called “Insta Burger King” in Miami back in 1954. Little did they know they were creating an international brand.
Just over 10 years later, Burger King was sold for the first time. Since then, it’s been owned by several companies. As of 2020, Canadian company Restaurant Brands International is the proud owner of the Big Whopper, which merged with Tim Horton’s. BK still receives financial backing from NYC’s 3G Capital.
4. Trader Joe’s
Original Headquarters: Monrovia, California
Purchased By: Theo Albrecht
Country: Germany
Competition in the convenience store sector has always been fierce, especially if it’s located in a heavily populated area. Back in 1967, Joe Coulombe started stocking unusual and hard to come by foods to try and entice customers into shopping with him instead of at 7-Eleven. It worked.
That store is still open today, but Joe sold Trader Joe’s in 1979. The owner of Aldi Nord, Theo Albrecht became the new owner. Aldi is a huge supermarket chain, so the Albrecht’s have a great deal of family money. Theo is said to be worth over $16 billion thanks to his wise investments.
5. American Apparel
Original Headquarters: Los Angeles, California
Purchased By: Gildan Activewear
Country: Canada
One of the most appealing aspects of clothing retailer American Apparel for consumers was its slogan, “Made in USA – Sweatshop free.” For the conscientious shopper, this was a brilliant brand. Everything went swimmingly for the company up until 2015, when it went bust and scrambled to get back on its feet.
In 2017, Canadian company Gildan Activewear swooped in to save the day, buying the rights to the American Apparel name and buying the manufacturing equipment at the same time. It didn’t come cheap, at a final price of $88 million. Because of this, American Apparel lives to fight another day – only, now it’s Canadian.
6. 7-Eleven
Original Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
Purchased By: Seven & i Holdings
Country: Japan
Every great company starts with one person and a dream. 7-Eleven was no different. Jefferson Green was just an average guy working for Southland Ice in 1927 when he started to expand his range, providing customers with eggs, bread, and milk. This business model proved popular, especially when he changed the name to 7-Eleven after the store’s opening hours.
As the decades ticked by, 7-Eleven became a well-known brand in America, with more locations than Jefferson Green could’ve ever dreamed of. However, it didn’t come out of the 1987 financial crash unscathed. Japanese company Ito-Yokado bought it. Now, it’s part of its parent company, Seven & i Holdings.
7. Sunglass Hut
Original Headquarters: Miami, Florida
Purchased By: Luxottica Group
Country: Italy
For eyewear lovers, Sunglass Hut is the one-stop shop to cater to every single need. From clear glasses to tinted, the company has stores in India, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and more. Of course, it originated in Miami, Florida as the brainchild of optometrist Sanford Ziff.
Five years after opening its 100th store in 1986, Sunglass Hut was sold. These days, it’s part of the Luxottica Group who made the purchase in 2001 for an eye-watering $653 million. At the time, over 1,300 stores existed. Now, close to 2,000 exist across the globe, with 81 of these existing in the United States.
8. Holiday Inn
Original Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee
Purchased By: Intercontinental Hotels
Country: England
It may be hard to imagine now, but back in 1952, Holiday Inn was just a single motel on the way from Memphis to Nashville. Kemmons Wilson first came up with the idea after having a less than desirable experience during a family road trip to Washington D.C. By 1953, Wilson had partnered with Wallace E. Johnson to build more locations.
At some point in the late ‘80s, the well-established hotel chain was purchased by an English company called the Intercontinental Hotels Group. Holiday Inn locations have continued to pop up and are still owned by IHG to this day, proving it to be a wise investment.
9. Hellman’s
Original Headquarters: New York City
Purchased By: Unilever
Country: England
Hellman’s mayonnaise is a refrigerator staple for most households. There’s one man responsible for that. German-born Richard Hellmann came up with the recipe back in 1905, putting a twist on the French condiment and bringing it into the American market.
Customers at his delicatessen loved it so much that Hellman sold it alone. By 1932, he sold to Best Foods, where it stayed for another 70 years. By 2000, the company was purchased by Unilever, who spent $20.3 billion on the brand that started out as a simple sauce in New York City.
10. Smithfield
Original Headquarters: Smithfield, VA
Purchased By: WH Group
Country: Hong Kong
When it comes to producing pork-based products, Smithfield Foods reigns supreme. The company has been going since 1936 when it was created by Joseph W. Luter and his son. The business grew steadily over the years to become one of the largest in the industry, with over 500 farms in America alone.
Back in 2013, WH Group bought Smithfield foods for the astronomical sum of $4.72 billion. At that time, it was the most expensive acquisition made by a Chinese company in America. So, while Smithfield’s HQ might be in Smithfield, Virginia, the company is actually run from Luohe in Henan province.
11. Ironman
Original Headquarters: Tampa Bay, Florida
Purchased By: Dalian Wanda Group
Country: China
The Ironman competition started out as part of the Hawaii Triathlon Corporation before being purchased by Dr. James P. Gills in 1990. At the time the deal was worth $3 million. Since then it’s become a much bigger entity than it once was. In 2008, it was sold to Providence Equity Securities for a healthy $85 million, before the Dalian Wanda Group came onto the scene in 2015.
The renowned Chinese corporation bought Ironman for $650 million, even taking on the debt left behind. Although the company was successful prior to the purchase, Wanda was especially happy with the 40% year after year net growth.
12. Forbes
Original Headquarters: Jersey City, New Jersey
Purchased By: Integrated Whale Media
Country: China
The first issue of Forbes was released back in September of 1917. Over the past 102 years, it has grown to become a trusted publication that holds definitive rankings of both companies and celebrities, while also maintaining popular lists like 30 Under 30 and World’s Most Powerful 100 Women.
Although it’s often seen as an American publication and it is still operated in the US, the company hasn’t been American-owned for quite some time. In 2014, Hong Kong-based company Integrated Whale Media Investments bought the magazine for around $400 million. However, readers probably haven’t noticed the difference.
13. Dirt Devil
Original Headquarters: Charlotte, North Carolina
Purchased By: Techtronic Industries
Country: China
Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners have been keeping America’s homes clean for 115 years, ever since they were first invented in 1905 in Cleveland, Ohio by Philip Geier. Since then, the range has expanded and over 25 million units have been sold, thanks in large to its unique Cyclone system.
Chinese company Techtronic Industries is the current proud owner of Dirt Devil, but it isn’t the only household appliance brand it owns. TI also purchased Hoover some years ago, giving the Hong Kong-based company quite the overseas appliance investment portfolio. Dirt Devil continues to have its HQ in North Carolina.
14. Good Humor
Original Headquarters: Youngstown, Ohio
Purchased By: Unilever
Country: England
Good Humor ice cream is better known among baby boomers. Many fans remember the 100-year-old company and its associated ice cream trucks. Once it started in Ohio during the ‘20s, there was no stopping the company as it expanded to most of America. Back in 1961, the company was bought by Thomas J. Lipton of Unilever.
Although Lipton operated the US division of the British-Dutch company, there’s no denying that Good Humor lost its 100% American-ness and instead gained something more. The brand expanded to include many more products, retaining a strong consumer base across the generations.
15. Purina
Original Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee
Purchased By: Bridgestone
Country: Japan
Nestle may be a name more associated with food than pet products, but that didn’t stop the Swiss company buying Purina in December 2001 for $10.3 billion. The decision was made to merge Nestle’s original pet food company, Friskies PetCare, with Purina.
Original founders William H. Danforth, George Robinson, and William Andrews started out feeding farm animals in 1894. They were blissfully unaware that this simple creation would make them incredibly rich men. The brand continues to be a staple in many homes across the globe, not just in America.
16. Firestone
Original Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee
Purchased By: Bridgestone
Country: Japan
In 1988, tire brand Firestone was offered the chance to merge with Italian company Pirelli, but the deal didn’t sit right. Instead, Firestone opted to sell to Bridgestone Corp. The Tokyo-based company spent $2.6 million on the purchase, equating to $80 a share. At the time, it helped Bridgestone become the second-largest tire manufacturer in the country.
“The Bridgestone offer achieves our objective of enhancing shareholder values and will add materially to the employment security and career opportunities available to the men and women employed by Firestone’s existing businesses,” explained Firestone in a statement printed in the Los Angeles Times.
17. Gerber
Original Headquarters: Florham Park, New Jersey
Purchased By: Nestle
Country: Switzerland
In 2007, Nestle made headlines again when it announced plans to buy Gerber Products Company for $5.5 billion. The baby food retailer was a smart acquisition for Nestle, who then got the biggest slice of the global baby food pie. As a market, it’s notoriously profitable.
As a brand, Gerber has been serving the parents of the world since 1927 when Daniel Frank Gerber’s wife started to make baby food for their daughter, Sally. A lightbulb went off in Daniel’s head. Within no time at all, he had five products ready to hit the market. That number has increased a lot since then.
18. Citgo
Original Headquarters: Houston, Texas
Purchased By: Petróleos de Venezuela
Country: Venezuela
Citgo was founded in Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 1910, becoming a popular refiner and marketer of fuels and other products. In 1986, Venezuelan company Petróleos de Venezuela purchased 50% of Citgo, making it the parent company for the brand.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the business. In 2010, President Hugo Chavez announced plans to sell Citgo, calling it “bad business” and blaming falling profits. However, the sale never happened and bonds were sold instead. An economic depression in 2013 saw it offered to Russia as collateral for a debt, with its future becoming deeply uncertain.
19. McDonald’s
Original Headquarters: San Bernardino, California
Purchased By: N/A
Country: USA
The chain McDonald’s is perhaps the most recognizable face of fast food. The first McDonald’s restaurant was a hamburger stand that was run by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. The two opened it in San Bernardino, California, in 1940, and 60 years later the company has restaurants in over 100 countries across the globe.
As of writing, McDonald’s is the largest restaurant chain by revenue in the world. US News estimates that over 60% of McDonald’s revenue comes from overseas, in particular from Europe and Asia. In 2022, McDonald’s headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.
20. Motorola
Original Headquarters: Schaumburg, Illinois
Purchased By: Lenovo
Country: China
Motorola might be best known for its tech, but it was founded in 1928 before mobile phones were even a dream. After steadily growing over the years, the business found success with its flip phones and other products, before it was sold to Google, who then sold it to Chinese company Lenovo in 2014.
Google didn’t make anything from the sale, as they originally bought Motorola for $12.5 billion in 2012 before selling it for just $2.9 billion two years later. To this day, no one quite understands the move or why Google was so comfortable taking a $10 billion loss.
21. IBM (PC Division)
Original Headquarters: Armonk, New York
Purchased By: Lenovo
Country: China
IBM as a company has been helping America stay on top of technology since 1911, although back then it was more to do with business machines and less to do with computers. The company has an interesting and long past, not least because the PC division was sold to Lenovo in 2004 for $1.75 billion.
“As Lenovo’s founder, I am excited by this breakthrough in Lenovo’s journey towards becoming an international company,” said Chuanzhi Liu, the CEO at the time. On the flip side, IBM’s CEO Sam Palmisano said, “Today’s announcement further strengthens IBM’s ability to capture the highest-value opportunities in a rapidly changing information technology industry.
22. Legendary Entertainment Group
Original Headquarters: Burbank, CA
Purchased By: Dalian Wanda Group
Country: China
After successfully purchasing AMC and testing the waters in the movie world, Dalian Wanda decided to up the ante in 2016 and purchase their very own movie studio. Legendary Entertainment Group signed over ownership to the investment group for a healthy $3.5 billion.
Dalian Wanda wanted to fully absorb LEG into its already existing portfolio of brands but instead decided to keep it operating as normal for the time being. Movies like Kong: Skull Island, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Skyscraper have been made since the deal was made four years ago.
23. Hoover US
Original Headquarters: Ohio
Purchased By: Techtronic Industries
Country: China
Hoover has been a trusted appliance brand in America since it was first founded in 1908. Over the decades, William Henry Hoover’s company became an iconic brand. Despite keeping things local until 2006, Hoover ended up selling to Techtronic Industries for $107 million.
While Hoover maintains a headquarters in North Carolina, its parent company runs things from its central office in Hong Kong. Techtronic is a huge company, with over 30,000 members of staff on the books and annual sales of over $7.7 billion. Hoover might not be American anymore, but it’s in good hands.
24. Frigidaire
Original Headquarters: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Purchased By: Electrolux
Country: Sweden
The Guardian Frigerator Company (as it was originally called) emerged in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1918. Although the business was officially founded by Nathaniel B. Wales and Alfred Mellowes, they didn’t initially have the money they needed to get things off the ground. That’s where General Motors founder William C. Durant stepped in.
Without his investment, the duo may never have got their company – later renamed Frigidaire – off the ground. By 1979, the company was owned by the White Sewing Machine Company, which was later bought by Sweden’s Electrolux in 1986. Frigidaire has remained a subsidiary of the business ever since.
25. Strategic Hotels and Resorts
Original Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Purchased By: Anbang Insurance Group
Country: China
Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc is a hotel chain company, currently with 17 luxury hotels within the United States, and uniquely, one hotel in Germany. The successful company was founded in 1997, by real estate investor and philanthropist Laurence S. Geller.
In 2016, the company was bought out by the Chinese company Anbang Insurance Group, for a reported $6.5 million. The initial deal fell through however, and they ended up buying the company for $1 million less, as one of their properties was forbidden from being sold by the US government for its proximity to a navy base.
26. Alka-Seltzer
Original Headquarters: Elkhart, Indiana
Purchased By: Bayer
Country: Germany
Alka-Seltzer has the distinction of being one of the longest-standing branded medicines out there. The antacid and pain relief drink was released under the Dr. Miles Medicine Company back in 1931. Although it stayed American for a good deal of time, the business was eventually sold to German company Bayer in 1978.
When it comes to pharmaceutical giants, Bayer has been known to rub shoulders with the best. Back in 2004, Bayer partnered with GlaxoSmithKline to work on a joint campaign to boost the sales of the drug Levitra under the tag line “Strike Up A Conversation.”
27. The Chrysler Building
Original Headquarters: New York City, NY
Purchased By: SIGNA Group
Country: Austria
When the News Corp’s publication The Wall Street Journal first broke the story of the Chrysler Building’s sale in 2019, many were taken aback. The building has long since been a New York institution, but it hasn’t been owned by an American company for some time.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Council paid $800 million for majority ownership back in 2008, but they ended up selling to Austrian company SIGNA and New York’s RFR for little over $150 million just over a decade later. The loss was catastrophic, making headlines in financial outlets the world over.
28. General Motors
Original Headquarters: Detroit, MI
Purchased By: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp
Country: China
General Motors holds the distinction of being America’s largest automobile manufacturer. As such, it’s also one of the biggest companies of its kind in the entire world, which certainly makes it profitable and appealing.
While General Motors isn’t entirely owned by a Chinese company, it does rely on its partnership with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp to keep the money rolling in. Both of the companies formed a joint venture in 1998. SAIC sells companies under the General Motors name, even if customers don’t realize it. SAIC has its headquarters in Shanghai, while GM has theirs in Detroit.
29. Spotify
Original Headquarters: New York, NY
Purchased By: Tencent Holdings Ltd
Country: China
Spotify is such a part of everyday life now that it’s difficult to remember a time when we couldn’t listen to the songs we want at the drop of a hat. The company was first founded in 2006, providing listeners with a way to stream their favorite music. Although it came from Sweden, Spotify has traveled a lot since then.
Back in 2017, Tencent Holdings and Spotify bought a stake in each other of roughly 10%. This joint venture helped Spotify crack into the Chinese market, while Tencent expanded its already large portfolio. It was a partnership of convenience for Spotify, who wasn’t strong enough at that point to dive into the Chinese market alone.
30. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Original Headquarters: New York, NY
Purchased By: Anbang Insurance Group
Country: China
If you’re making a trip to New York, staying at the Waldorf-Astoria is a true taste of luxury. Not only is it an institution, but it’s also a part of American history. While the company is managed by Hilton Worldwide, it was bought by the Anbang Insurance Group of China in 2014 for $1.95 billion.
That extravagant price made it the most expensive hotel ever sold. Anbang made some big changes to the Astoria, including making some of the rooms into condos. This Chinese company has also looked at buying several other American-owned businesses over the years, including Starwood Resorts.
31. Tesla
Original Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA
Purchased By: Tencent Holdings Ltd
Country: China
Elon Musk might be the brains behind Tesla and the majority shareholder with 21.7%, but he isn’t the only one pumping money into the automotive company. There are plenty of shareholders, including Tencent Holdings Ltd. Tencent isn’t just into music, but a variety of things.
Tencent is the world’s largest video game company and one of the largest social media companies, making it a force to be reckoned with. In 2019, it had a net income of $95.8 billion, so whatever they’re doing, they’re doing it right. At the moment, the company is still on the up and up.
32. Snapchat
Original Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Purchased By: Tencent Holdings Ltd
Country: China
Taking a picture with a silly filter has never been so popular thanks to Snapchat. The company was founded by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy in 2011, but neither one would have realized how popular it would become. At the moment, Snapchat is valued at over $20 billion.
Back in 2017, Tencent extended its reach to Snapchat, too. The tech giant poured in over $2 billion for a 10% stake in the company, hoping to see a tidy return from its investment. On the flip side, Tencent used its tech expertise to develop the augmented reality Snapchat uses even further.
33. Ingram Micro
Original Headquarters: Irvine, CA
Purchased By: HNA Technology Co. Ltd
Country: China
Ingram Micro started out as a small technology product distributor in 1979 before going on to become a multi-billion dollar business. In the early 1990s, Ingram was in a position to take over Belgium’s Softinvest. As a result, they were able to distribute Hewlett Packard products which gave them an even bigger foothold.
In 2016, Chinese company Tianjin Tianhai Investment (a part of the HNA Group) bought Ingram for a cool $6 billion. At that time, the deal made Ingram one of HNA’s biggest earners out of their entire portfolio. It was a shrewd business move to help further Ingram in foreign markets.
34. Fidelity & Guaranty Life
Original Headquarters: Des Moines, IA
Purchased By: Anbang Insurance Group (Failed Acquisition)
Country: China
Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Company help millions of people feel more secure in case the worst ever happens. That being said, the future of the company wasn’t always so certain. F&G was owned wholly by Harbinger Group until it was opened up to the public in 2013.
Then, Anbang Insurance Group expressed an interest in making the purchase for $1.57 billion. Everything was set to go until the deal was terminated at the last minute. Instead, F&G was acquired by CF Corp in 2017 for an estimated $1.84 billion.
35. Universal Music Group
Original Headquarters: Santa Monica, CA
Purchased By: Vivendi/Tencent
Country: France/China
Landing a record deal with Universal is a triumph for any artist. Known as one of the world’s “Big Three” record companies (alongside Sony Music and Warner Music Group UMG has a reputation that spans almost a century. The company may be home to many great homegrown bands, but it hasn’t been American owned for years.
French company Vivendi has owned the majority stake in the company for over a decade, but reached a deal with Chinese company Tencent in early 2020. For $33.4 billion, the Shenzhen-based media giant got a 10% cut.
36. WeWork
Original Headquarters: New York, NY
Purchased By: Legend Holdings Corp
Country: China
In recent years, shared workspaces have become more chic and on-trend than ever, especially for freelancers or companies just starting out. WeWork capitalized on this trend when it was conceived 10 years ago. Now, it manages over 4 million square meters of co-working space.
However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the business, who desperately needed some capital in 2016. As a result, Beijing-based company Legend Holdings Corp poured over $430 million into WeWork as a “new partner.” CEO of Legend’s Hony Capital John Zhao said, “Our investment in WeWork is both strategic and obvious.”
37. Segway Inc
Original Headquarters: Bedford, NH
Purchased By: Ninebot Inc
Country: China
Standing on two wheels and whizzing around seemed like something out of Back to the Future a couple of decades ago, unless you own a motorbike. Segways became very popular over the past few years, but when Beijing-based company Ninebot bought Segway in 2015 for $80 million, things got better.
Ninebot was able to push the technology to try and make Segway a bigger presence in the robotics and technology industry. In 2018, plans to move production out of New Hampshire to China were announced, but it was later said that the majority of production would stay in Bedford.
38. John Hancock Life Insurance
Original Headquarters: Boston, Mass
Purchased By: Manulife Financial
Country: Canada
The John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund
The Canadian business could’ve easily wiped out the John Hancock name altogether, but decided to hold onto the well-known brand and keep things moving under the original moniker. Manulife operates out of Toronto, employing over 34,000 members of staff and a further 63,000 agents.
39. Sotheby’s
Original Headquarters: New York, NY
Purchased By: Taikang Life Insurance Co Ltd
Country: China
What does a luxury broker of fine and decorative art and a life insurance company have in common? The answer is more complex than you might think. Sotheby’s was founded in London in 1744 before setting up shop in New York City and opening locations around the world.
In 2016, Chinese life insurance company Taikang Life was announced as Sotheby’s newest majority shareholder. Taikang held that position until 2019 when the company was bought by French-Israeli titan Patrick Drahi. It’s unclear what happened to Taikang’s 13.5% stake or if they’re still in partnership with Drahi.
40. The Barclays Center
Original Headquarters: Brooklyn, NY
Purchased By: Joseph Tsai
Country: Taiwan/Canada
The Barclays Center is a mecca for sports fans, music lovers, and anyone in between. Taiwanese-Canadian businessman Joseph Tsai completed the purchase of the center in 2019. The chairman of the Alibaba Group also bought the Brooklyn Nets NBA team.
“With full ownership of the Nets and Barclays Center, we will continue to bring our exciting brand of basketball to our fans,” said Tsai at the time. “We’ve made a strong commitment to Brooklyn and it will be a privilege to present the best of Barclays Center with its great entertainment to our community.”
41. Brookstone Inc
Original Headquarters: Peterborough, NH
Purchased By: Sanpower Group Corp; General Electric Capital Corp; Sailing Capital Management Co Ltd
Country: China
Brookstone Inc. started out as a mail-order business selling special tools that were hard to find in the mid-60s. From there it started selling items like remote control toys, alarm clocks, and much more. As of 2018, there were 34 locations in America.
The company fell on hard times in 2014 when it was forced to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, but Chinese companies Sailing Capital and Sanpower came forward and bought it for $173 million. Thankfully, this purchase and a large injection of cash saved the company from going under completely. Brookstone came out of bankruptcy in July 2014.
42. Dairy Farmers of America Inc
Original Headquarters: Kansas City, KS
Purchased By: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd
Country: China
A milk marketing collective called the Dairy Farmers of America most of us would associate with China, but it’s true. In 2014, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group partnered up with DFA to produce milk powder in a brand-new processing plant.
This came on the back of issues China had with producing milk due to a drought in New Zealand, meaning a lot of the country’s supply had been cut off. To combat the issue, the Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group dramatically increased its international presence. DFA may not be owned by them, but they’re strong bedfellows.
43. Fab.com Inc
Original Headquarters: New York, NY
Purchased By: Tencent Holdings Ltd and Partners
Country: China
Being in the online design industry is tough as the competition out there is stiff. Once based in New York City, Fab.com managed to secure a huge investment from Tencent Holdings in 2013 worth around $1 billion. With Tencent, Fab hoped to launch platforms in Asia.
“It’s a way to enter markets through strategic partners who can help mitigate risk and will increase the likelihood of success,” said CEO Jason Goldberg. However, two years later in 2015 the company was bought by PCH International and relaunched as a wellness brand specializing in yoga gear.
44. The Cleveland Cavaliers
Original Headquarters: Cleveland, OH
Purchased By: Investor Group led by Jianhua Huang
Country: China
Basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers burst onto the scene in 1970 with thanks from their sponsors. The team continued to grow in the game over the decades, with backing from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. However, in 2019, they got some overseas investors, too.
The Cavaliers signed a deal with Jianhua Huang, a Chinese businessman that previously made deals with the New York Yankees and other teams throughout America. Huang reportedly bought a 15% stake in the Cavaliers. It’s not unusual for sports clubs to have outside investors from overseas. In this case, LeBron James was already popular in China.
45. Riot Games Inc
Original Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Purchased By: Tencent Holdings Ltd
Country: China
Riot Games is best known as the creator of League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle extravaganza that pits users against each other. The game debuted in 2009 and gained a lot of traction, becoming the company’s best-known product. Although Tencent and Riot had been partners for many years, Tencent upped the ante in 2015.
The company bought the rest of the stakes that it didn’t own, making it Riot’s parent company and giving it full creative control. Prior to that, Tencent still owned 93% of the business, so it seemed like a natural progression. Riot Games is worth $6 billion.
46. Uber Technologies Inc
Original Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Purchased By: Baidu Inc
Country: China
Grabbing a cab was made even easier when Uber rolled around, allowing users to book a ride with just a touch of a button. It was created by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick in 2009, before going on to become a multi-billion-dollar business and a household name across the world.
In 2014, Chinese internet-search titan Baidu Inc. made a big investment of over $600 million to help Uber expand into China. The partnership was mutually beneficial, as Baidu wanted to use Uber to grow its mobile payment service. It was a match made in heaven.
47. OmniVision Technologies Inc
Original Headquarters: Santa Clara, CA
Purchased By: Will Semiconductor Co. Ltd.
Country: China
The deal brokered between OmniVision Technologies Inc. and Shanghai-based company Will Semiconductor Co. Ltd was so quiet that it didn’t become public knowledge until a year later in 2019. According to documents published in April of that year, over $2.1 billion exchanged hands.
With little to no fanfare and no public statement released, the details of the sale remain unclear. However, the company first became involved with Chinese investors in 2015 when several chinese companies banded together to pay $1.9 billion for the California-based business. Will Semiconductor Co. Ltd is not a well-known company by any means, making the takeover somewhat of a mystery.
48. Baby Trend Inc
Original Headquarters: Fontana, CA
Purchased By: Alpha Group
Country: China
Baby Trend Inc specializes in all things baby, from highchairs and car seats to travel systems and diaper pails. The business continues to grow, especially after the 2016 purchase made by Canton’s Alpha Group.
“We are excited to offer safe, educational, and entertaining solutions to infants and their caregivers around the world,” said Wang Jing, the VP of Alpha. “Acquiring Baby Trend will allow us to bring our innovative technology and outstanding intellectual properties into a whole new category, while showcasing our existing expertise in the baby and infant market globally.”
49. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Original Headquarters: Houston, TX
Purchased By: Concord Medical Services
Country: China
Back in 2012, many eyebrows were raised when 20% of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Proton Therapy Center was acquired by Beijing-based company Concord Medical services. Although the purchase didn’t directly affect the University’s ownership stakes, it did boost Concord’s profile.
“Proton treatment has become a widely accepted method of radiation therapy,” said Dr. Jianyu Yang, Concord Medical chairman and CEO. “Concord Medical plans to build and operate two proton centers in China. This transaction will enable us to gain valuable experience and knowledge of the operations of a proton therapy center from the world leader in proton therapy cancer care.”
50. Hilton Hotels
Original Headquarters: McLean, VA
Purchased By: HNA Group Co Ltd
Country: China
Hilton Hotels & Resorts has been operating since 1919 thanks to founder Conrad “Nicky” Hilton. From a handful of simple locations, Hilton became a worldwide name with 586 hotels in 85 countries by 2018. Hilton’s are everywhere.
In 2016, China’s aviation and shipping titan HNA Group paid $6.5 billion for a 25% stake in the hospitality chain, becoming the biggest shareholder. This was the second purchase that year for HNA who also bought Carlson Hotels Inc. in a bid to spread its wings into the hotel industry. At the time of the purchase, Hilton was worth around $26 billion.
51. Starplex Cinemas
Original Headquarters: Dallas, TX
Purchased By: Dalian Wanda Group Corp Ltd
Country: China
Starplex never had the same power in the industry as AMC did, with only 34 locations across America. As a result, many Americans never set foot in a Starplex theater because there just weren’t any around. The chain was bought by AMC Theaters in 2015 for $175 million, with many locations turned into AMC Classics.
As we discussed earlier, AMC is largely controlled by the Dalian Wanda Group Corp Ltd. As Starplex faded into obscurity when the last of the theaters were changed over to AMC in 2017, the company was swallowed by AMC and Dalian to become another cog in the machine.
52. California Grapes International Inc
Original Headquarters: San Jose, CA
Purchased By: China Food Services Corp
Country: China
California Grapes International Inc was once a homegrown business, but that all changed when it was bought by China Food Services Corp. Once a company focused on distributing wine, California Grapes faded into obscurity after the purchase was made some years ago for an undisclosed amount.
China Food Services Corp describes itself as being “is engaged in marketing, distribution, and selling of food and beverages though-out Asia and the Middle East. It owns and operates Golden Dragon Food & Beverage Import & Export Company of Hong Kong, Ltd.” The company was founded in 1992.
53. Fisher Price
Original Headquarters: East Aurora, NY
Purchased By: Mattel
Country: China
Fisher-Price is a toy-making company that has been around since 1930. Though it has its headquarters in America, the company has a series of contracts with outside vendors. It has eleven factories in China. In 2007, Fisher-Price (via its parent company, Mattel, which bought Fisher-Price back in 1993) made headlines when it recalled one million of its toys, which were made in China.
The reason for the massive recall was that these factories had made the toys with excessive amounts of lead in them, something that can be dangerous to children, especially the young age groups that play with the company’s toys.
54. Hush Puppies
Original Headquarters: Rockford, Michigan
Purchased By: Wolverine World Wide
Country: China, Vietnam, Brazil
Hush Puppies’ shoe brand was introduced in 1958. It is owned by Wolverine World Wide, and Wolverine markets and licenses the shoes throughout 120 countries, including America. This means that the shoes are made in factories worldwide. The company almost went under in the mid-nineties, but I was saved by Geoffrey Bloom, the chairman.
There is a Hush Puppies factory located in Michigan along with the headquarters, but it is often cheaper in other countries to make the shoes there. Hush Puppies is noted for its inventive use of Scotchgard, a leather protector added during tanning to increase resistance to scuffs, stains, and water.
55. Gillette
Original Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased By: Procter & Gamble
Country: Poland, Brazil, Mexico, China
Gillette is one of America’s most popular shaving brands, and it does make part of its blade supply in America. However, the handles, cartridges, and razors are made in China, Mexico, Poland, and Brazil. Gillette still has a factory in Boston, and it’s had that Massachusetts plant since the early twentieth century.
However, as its website stated, demand for razors has increased, so the company has expanded. 1992 was the first year Gillette attempted to corner the razor market in China, opening a plant in Shanghai. This allowed Gillette to access the demand of a billion razors per year then.
56. Barbie
Original Headquarters: Hawthorne, CA
Purchased By: Mattel
Country: China
Ruth Handler made the first Barbie in 1959, launching the famous doll brand. Barbies are still extremely popular, even sixty-one years later, and Mattel, Inc. (the company that owns Barbie) has reported strong sales of 58 million Barbies sold annually. That is over 100 dolls per minute. Mattel’s net revenue is around $1.5 billion a year.
Fun fact: Barbies have never been made in America. Mattel opened its first Barbie plant in 1959 in Japan, when the company was struggling to recover after WWII. Now, it has four factories: two are in China, and the others are in Malaysia and Indonesia.
57. Huffy
Original Headquarters: Dayton, OH
Purchased By: Russell Corporation
Country: China, Mexico, Taiwan
Huffy was founded more than a century ago in Dayton, Ohio. The company is a bicycle supplier, and it owns tons of subsidiaries, including Royce Union, American Sports Design Co., Gen-X Sports, and Huffy Bicycle Co. This athletic brand was founded by George Huffman, who used an old nickname as the company’s title.
In late 1999, Huffy closed down its two U.S. bicycle plants in favor of cheaper manufacturing overseas. The company has outsourced production to six plants in China, in addition to one in Mexico and one in Taiwan. Before outsourcing, it had plants in Celina, Ohio.
58. Oakley Sunglasses
Headquarters Original: Lake Forest, CA
Purchased By: Italy
Country: China
Oakley was founded by entrepreneur James Jannard, who used an investment of $300 to start what would later become one of the most iconic sunglass fashion brands in the world. Oakley is a subsidiary of Luxottica, a Milan-based company, but Oakley itself is based in Lake Forest, California.
The company was founded in 1975, and, twenty years later, it had its first IPO and raised $230 million. It expanded into selling chin guards and ski goggles, growing its product line. Its founder, after selling Oakley to Luxottica, went on to create the company, Red Digital Cinema, in 2007.
59. Converse
Headquarters in: Boston, MA
Purchased By: Nike
Country: China
Converse is a shoe company that makes hightop canvas shoes. The company was founded in 1908, but, when WWII occurred, it stopped making shoes for style and instead started making shoes for the military. When it returned, it kept some of those attributes for its new collections.
Converse has been owned by Nike since 2003. Nike has a lot of plants in China (and everywhere), so it makes sense that Converse does too. Converse went bankrupt in 2001, and that ended its American-made status, as well as its solo company status. Now, Converse has factories in Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and China.
60. Nike
Original Headquarters: Beaverton, OR
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, Sri Lanka
Speaking of Nike, the athleticwear giant has tons of factories overseas. One in five pairs of Nikes are made in China, making the country the second-largest producer of Nikes in the world. China and Nike have contracts with 180 manufacturers, which employ more than 210,000 people. The largest producer is in Vietnam, and there are also plants in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Brazil.
Nike and Adidas have been shrinking their China manufacturing. In 2012, one in three pairs of Nikes (32%) were made in China. Now, 19% of Nikes are made there. Nike has not stated the reason for the decrease.
61. Levi’s
Original Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Italy, Japan, China, USA
Levi’s Jeans are one of America’s biggest denim retailers, selling jeans and jackets by the millions. According to the company, Levi has $5.76 billion in net sales each year. The company became popular in the sixties, as its consumer base expanded from cowboys, farmers, and factory workers to other buyers.
The company went public in the early seventies, and, at that point, it had operations in 50 countries. Levi’s makes over 99% of their jeans in Japan, Italy, and China, as well as other non-American countries. They do have a small line, their 501 Jeans, made in a factory in North Carolina.
62. American Girl
Original Headquarters: El Segundo, CA
Purchased By: Mattel
Country: China
American Girl dolls are super popular in America, and they are worth thousands of dollars today if you have the old, antique variations. American Girl dolls were made by Pleasant Company, a business founded in 1986 by Pleasant Rowland. The dolls were, initially, only available via mail order.
Once Mattel bought the brand in 1998, Pleasant Company’s toys were more widely available. As demand increased, so did production. The dolls are now made in Germany. Their books are made in Wisconsin. The dolls’ accessories (purses, hats, etc.) are made in China. The accessories and dolls are shipped in and assembled right in Wisconsin.
63. Chevrolet
Originals Headquarters: Detroit, MI
Purchased By: General Motors
Country: N/A
Chevrolet is one of the “Big Three” automakers, and it often touts the fact that it is America-made. While the company does assemble its cars in its famous Detroit, Michigan factories, its parts are often made in China. Chevy makes a little over half of its parts overseas.
The Chevy Silverado, for example, has 46% American-made parts. The Chevy Colorado has 51% American-made parts. Chevy sells cars in all but nine countries. In South Korea, Chevy cars are especially popular, though they retailed under the brand “Daewoo Motors” until 2011. The most “American-made” car on Chevy’s roster is the Corvette.
64. Radio Flyer
Original Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Purchased By: Hasbro
Country: China
Radio Flyer is a toy company headquartered in Chicago. It is most famous for its red toy wagon, though it also makes toy horses, bikes, trikes, and ride-ons. The company has been around for over a century, and it has kept its founding location as its headquarters since its inception.
The toy company said in a 2004 interview that it was “a Chicago brand.” Radio Flyer makes its scooters, tricycles, and most of its other toys in China. The exception is its plastic red wagon, which is made in Wisconsin. Radio Flyer also made the world’s biggest wagon to celebrate its eightieth anniversary.
65. Craftsman
Original Headquarters: New Britain, CT
Purchased By: Sears
Country: China, Taiwan
Craftsman tools can be found in stores like Lowe’s, Sears, Home Depot, Walmart, and pretty much anywhere that home improvement products are located. Craftsman has factories in America, but it also has outsourced some of its manufacturing to Taiwan and China. Sears, its parent company, made that call.
Sockets, wrenches, and ratchets are now made in Taiwan and China by Apex Tool Group, which contracts with Craftsman. Western Forge, another tool production company, has a contract with Craftsman as well. Western Forge makes its tools in America. So, overall, the production of the tools is split between the two continents.
66. Samsonite
Original Headquarters: Mansfield, MA
Purchased By: CVC Capital Partners
Country: China, Hungary, India
Samsonite is a luggage company that has been around since 1910. It was founded in Denver, Colorado by Jesse Shwayder. It stayed out West for 91 years before ownership changes moved it across the country. Now, Samsonite is headquartered in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Samsonite makes most of its luggage in Asia and Europe.
It has plants in Hungary, China, and India. Samsonite’s plant in Nashik, India makes about 40% of all of its hard luggage. The company is very popular in China, not just for manufacturing, but for sales. It sells two-thirds of all products in China, via contract-manufacturers in Shanghai.
67. Dell
Original Headquarters: Round Rock, TX
Purchased By: N/A
Country: China, Malaysia, Brazil, Ireland
Dell is one of the largest computer companies in the world. Owned by Michael Dell and founded in the eighties, the company has split its computer manufacturing. It makes all of its servers in Austin, Texas. It used to build its laptops in America, but it was cheaper to outsource.
Now, the company has laptop factories in Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, China, and Ireland. Its Limerick, Ireland plant is build-to-order, and the Irish plant got a lot of press when it opened up in 2000. The plant is 40,000 square feet, making it one of Ireland’s largest factories. It employs more than three-thousand people.
68. Black & Decker
Original Headquarters: New Britain, CT
Purchased By: Sears
Country: China
Black & Decker is a corporation that makes all types of home improvement tools and products. It was founded and is headquartered in Maryland, where it has remained for more than a century. The company reports revenue of $11.41 billion. The company splits its manufacturing between America and China.
It has thirty factories in America, with locations in Missouri, Connecticut, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The majority of its manufacturing takes place in China. There are also a few plants in Europe. The company employs 16,600 American workers, and it has employed thousands of Americans, according to its website, “for 175 years.”
69. Ford
Headquarters in: Detroit, MI
Purchased By: N/A
Country: International
Ford is American-founded, but it has grown to become a multinational company. The vehicle, like Chevy, touts its American-made status, and it keeps its Detroit factories running all year-round. However, Ford makes some of its parts in China, and it has manufacturing locations in nearly every country.
Ford makes many of its parts in China and then imports them to America, where Ford cars and trucks are assembled in Detroit. Ford gets the vast majority of its car/truck parts from one-hundred suppliers. It gets its transmissions in Germany. Some Fords are up to 90% American-made, in terms of parts. Others are far lower.
70. G.I. Joe
Original Headquarters: Pawtucket, RI
Purchased By: Hasbro
Country: China, Taiwan
G.I. Joe was originally called “America’s Movable Fighting Man,” and it was based on the American military. Now, Hasbro owns the G.I. Joe brand, which has expanded into a line of action movies, TV shows, and video games. The National Toy Hall of Fame inducted G.I. Joe in 2004. The Pop Culture Hall of Fame inducted it in 2017.
Hasbro is located in Rhode Island, and it makes a lot of its toys in American plants, including G.I. Joe action figures. It also has plants in Hong Kong and Taiwan. China is apparently a purchaser of G.I. Joe action figures.
71. Monopoly
Original Headquarters: Pawtucket, RI
Purchased By: Hasbro
Country: Canada, China, Taiwan
Another Hasbro product is the famous board game, Monopoly. Hasbro sold the factory that makes the game to a Belgium card-maker called Cartamundi. Cartamundi still employs the same workers. Though Monopoly was made in America, it has plants in China and India.
Hasbro has looked to cut its manufacturing in China down to 50%. It is looking to factory locations in India as a source of cheap labor. According to the toymaker, it expects to have the production cut to half by the end of 2020. Currently, it has most of its plants in the Guangdong Province of China.
72. American Eagle Outfitters
Original Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Purchased By: Retail Ventures, Inc.
Made in: China
American Eagle is a retailer that is targeted towards teenagers and young adults, and, despite the “American” in its name, its clothes are mostly foreign-made. China, Vietnam, and India are its choices of manufacturing locations, as those three countries have been cotton manufacturing hubs since the Industrial Revolution.
American Eagle has a wide reach, too. It has stores in the U.S. (pretty much every mall) Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and China. All in all, as of 2017, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has more than one thousand stores, including its Aerie spinoff, which sells basics and underwear.
73. American Tourister
Original Headquarters: Providence, RI
Purchased By: Samsonite
Country: China
American Tourister is a luggage brand that is owned by Samsonite. It was founded nearly a century ago, but, after being bought by the larger company, it abides by their manufacturing plans. Samsonite is made in China by contracted manufacturers. American Tourister is made in China as well, in addition to assembly plants in Nashik, India, and Hungary.
Samsonite chose to move its manufacturing out-of-country because it was facing a labor shortage in America. Samsonite is now owned by Astrum International, which is based in the Middle East. Still, despite being made out of the States, American Tourister has its headquarters right in Rhode Island, where it was founded.
74. Campbell’s Soup
Original Headquarters: Camden, NJ
Purchased By: N/A
Country: China
Campbell’s Soup has factories all over the world, though it has its headquarters in New Jersey. Campbell’s Soup Company has factories in China, Canada, America, and a dozen other countries. Campbell’s also owns popular brands of snack food, including Snyder-Lance, Pepperidge Farm, Late July Snacks, Baptista’s Bakery, Arnott’s Biscuits, and Bolthouse Farms.
The company sells its soup all over the world, and its Chinese customers consume 355 billion servings of soup per year, according to company data. You might think that Chicken Noodle is the company’s most popular flavor; but, worldwide, its Mexican-Style Chicken Tortilla is its best-selling item.
75. American Standard
Original Headquarters: Piscataway, NJ
Purchased By: Samsonite
Country: China
The majority of American Standard products are made in Mexico, though a handful are made in Asia—specifically, China. American Standard faucets are made from Chinese-made parts, and assembly is done in Mexico. American Standard is owned by American Standard Brands, which sells brand-names such as Crane, Fiat, Showerite, Sanymetal, and more.
The company is based in New Jersey, and it was founded in 2008, making it one of the newer companies on this list. American Standard as a subsidiary has been around a little longer than its parent company, having been founded in the late sixties in Piscataway, New Jersey.
76. Estee Lauder
Original Headquarters: New York, NY
Purchased By: N/A
Country: China
Estee Lauder was founded in New York City in 1946 by Estee Lauder and her husband, Joseph. It is still headquartered in the General Motors Building, and the high-end cosmetics brand is worth around $11.6 billion in assets and $4.4 billion in equity. The company is a pioneer in the “prestige cosmetics” brand.
Estee Lauder has a wide international reach. In China, it operates research and development facilities. In terms of making its products, it has factories in the UK, US, Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium. Estee Lauder, the founder, was, at one point, the wealthiest self-made woman in the world.
77. J.M. Smucker Company
Original Headquarters: Orrville, OH
Purchased By: N/A
Country: China
J.M. Smucker Company is one of the most well-recognized food brands in America, particularly when it comes to its jelly. Smuckers, as it’s known in short-hand, announced back in 2012 that it had acquired a minority interest (non-controlling) in the Chinese brand Seamild Tech Development Company.
In addition to making some of its products in China, Smuckers also has a strong connection to Canadian manufacturing. However, it no longer has a plant in Quebec. It shut down that plant in 2013 in order to consolidate more of its business in America. It is still headquartered where it was founded—Orrville, Ohio.
78. Tommy Hilfiger
Original Headquarters: New York, NY
Purchased By: PVH Corp.
Country: The Netherlands
Tommy Hilfiger is a world renowned brand of men’s and women’s clothing, with a primarily sporty style. While now the company is worth billions of dollars, it all began as a single shop opened up by the eponymous designer, who saved up $150 to open up the shop in upstate New York.
Since its inception in the 1980s, it has grown into a massive global company, selling their clothes, accessories, and home goods in over 2,000 department stores worldwide. In 2010, the company was bought by PVH Corp., and Daniel Grieder was given the CEO position, while Tommy Hilfiger himself remains the lead designer.
79. Arrow Shirts
Original Headquarters: Leominster, Massachusetts
Purchased By: PVC
Country: Multinational
Arrow Shirts is a well-known apparel brand that has expanded from a small Massachusetts operation into a multinational company, licensing countries in Europe and Asia to sell its brand-name shirts. Arrow is especially popular in India, and the extra revenue has helped the business grow immensely in a short period of time.
Arrow is owned by Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation. Though you might not know PVH Corp., you’ll definitely recognize the brand names it owns, such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, IZD, True & Co., Olga, Geoffrey Beene, and Van Heusen. PVH has thousands of employees and factories across the world.
80. Schwinn
Original Headquarters: Vancouver, Washington
Purchased By: Huffy
Country: China (Made In)
Schwinn is a name that has been associated with American bikes forever, but the company itself has become less American after all. Dorel Industries, a Canadian company, bought Pacific Cycle, a company that makes Schwinn bikes. The sale took place in 2004. Now, Schwinn is owned by Huffy.
Huffy bought the name for $60 million, which stunned the Internet, as Active.com called Schwinn one of the “greatest names” in the history of “American business.” Huffy makes the majority of its bikes in China, and it stopped making bikes in the USA until the mid-1990s, when financial struggles forced it overseas.
81. Rawlings
Original Headquarters: Town and Country, Missouri
Purchased By: Seidler Equity Partners
Country: China (Made In)
Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Rawlings has become a name synonymous with American sports. It is currently owned by the MLB and Seidler Equity Partners. Rawlings is one of the most-chosen gloves of MLB players, and it’s hard to imagine baseball without it.
The company might be synonymous with US sports, but it makes a lot of its products overseas. It has a factory located in China. Rawlings’ MLB baseballs are made in America, but its Minor League baseballs are made in China, according to a stamp on each of them. As ProPublica put it, “Everything you need to play baseball is made in China.”
82. Etch A Sketch
Original Headquarters: Bryan, Ohio
Purchased By: Spin Master
Country: Canada
A French inventor named Andre Cassagnes invented the Etch a Sketch, which is one of the most popular toys in American history. The mechanical drawing toy was created in 1955, and it was sold by Ohio Art starting in 1960.
For years, Ohio Art was the primary seller. Then, the Bryan, Ohio company had a “surprise shakeup.” It sold Etch A Sketch to Spin Master, a Canadian company, in 2016. Now, Spin Master will own this successful product, which, according to CNBC, has sold 100 million Etch A Sketches since Ohio Art introduced it to the market over seventy years ago.
83. Medtronic
Original Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Purchased By: Cardinal Health
Country: Ireland
Medtronic is a medical device company that is best known for making industry-changing cardiac devices, including miniature- and battery-powered pacemakers. Medtronic sells insulin pumps and diabetes therapies as well. The company has headquarters in Fridley, Minnesota, the same state in which it was founded in 1949.
However, it is an Irish company, with its main headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. The company sells medical devices all around the world, and it owns subsidiaries like Mazor Robotics. The conglomerate recently got a shakeup in its leadership. Geoffrey S. Martha was appointed CEO in 2020, establishing himself as the leader of the $30 billion brand.
84. McDermott
Original Headquarters: Houston, Texas
Purchased By: Merged to Form McDermott International
Country: Panama
McDermott International was founded ninety-eight years ago in Houston, Texas. The oil and gas company was family-owned for decades, and it became one of Houston’s best-known businesses. The company boasts assets near $10 billion, with yearly revenue of over $6.7 billion.
Starting a couple of decades ago, McDermott has been headquartered in Panama. The engineering, construction, and procurement company also does business internationally. It has operations in the Middle East, Caspian Sea, Pacific Rim, Central America, and more. Though it’s domiciled in sunny Panama, the oil and gas conglomerate is actually headquartered in Houston, Texas Energy Corridor, a business district in the bustling metropolitan area.
85. Seagate
Original Headquarters: Fremont, California
Purchased By: Veritas Software
Country: Ireland
Seagate Technology is a data storage company that was founded by a team of tech entrepreneurs in 1979. They founded their Internet business near when the Internet was invented, so Seagate has had a huge edge in the industry, with $10.51 billion of revenue each year.
The company, which was originally named Shugart Technology, has been incorporated in Dublin since 2010. It has its operational headquarters in Fremont, a city in California, but it is more tax-advantageous for the company to have its incorporation in Ireland. One year after moving its incorporation to Ireland, Seagate bought Samsung’s HDD business.
86. Carrier
Original Headquarters: Newark, New Jersey
Purchased By: United Technologies Corp.
Country: Multinational
Carrier Global was founded in Newark, New Jersey. The company then moved its headquarters to sunny Palm Beach, Florida. It was originally founded in 1915 as an HVAC manufacturer and distributor, and it has stuck to its roots, but it has also expanded to include foodservice equipment and commercial refrigeration.
Carrier has expanded to truly fulfill the “Global” part of its name, breaking ground in many new countries, including, in 2017, a new facility in Shanghai’s Baoshan Industrial Zone. Though Carrier was briefly purchased by United in 1979, it once again became an independent company when it was spun off by United.
87. Actavis/Allergan
Original Headquarters: Troy Hills, New Jersey
Purchased By: Teva Pharmaceuticals
Country: Israel
Allergen is a pharmaceutical company that, most notably, makes Botox (in addition to other medical therapies and products). Actavis bought Allergan in 2015, and then, just one year later, the company sold Allergan, its “generic business” to Teva. Teva Pharmaceuticals is an Israeli company headquartered in Tel Aviv.
Though Actavis would remain owned by Israel, Allergan was sold to AbbVie Inc. Actavis is doing well since its sale to Teva. The company is now a $23 billion company, with forty manufacturing facilities. Actavis has a commercial reach of 100 countries, making it one of the most recognizable brand names in the world.
88. Brach’s
Original Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
Purchased By: Barry Callebaut
Country: Switzerland
Anyone with a sweet tooth knows about Brach’s. The candy company is headquartered in Illinois, and it makes hundreds of different candies and confections. The company has been through a lot of mergers as well, since its founding in 1904 by Emil Brach.
It was sold to Bertram Johnson in 1980, and then it was sold to Ferrara, with which it merged to become the Ferrara Candy Company. Brach’s is now owned by a Switzerland company called Barry Callebaut. Callebaut was in charge of deciding to move the candy company’s original headquarters down to Dallas, Texas in 2004.
89. Morgan Stanley
Original Headquarters: New York City, New York
Purchased By: MUFG Bank
Country: Japan
In 2008, MUFG, a Japanese bank, announced that it was about to take a big bet on Morgan Stanley. Mitsubishi UFG spent $3 billion on 9.9% of Morgan Stanley’s common stock, which cost around $25.25 per share. Two years later, the bank, which has become a ubiquitous presence in America, would deepen its ties to MUFG.
Morgan Stanley and MUFG formed two different joint venture brokerages, one of which was Morgan Stanley Securities, of which MUFG owned the majority. The other was Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, which Morgan Stanley has since kept control of. The capital market company might be American-founded, but it has expanded to have deep ties with Japanese business owners.
90. Lowe’s
Original Headquarters: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Multinational (Made In)
Lowe’s is an American retailer that has locations in pretty much every major American city. It is the second-largest hardware chain in the country (Home Depot surpassed it a few years ago), and it started as merely a dry goods store. Over time, it has expanded to become a billion-dollar brand.
And, like many billion-dollar brands, Lowe’s outsources its manufacturing. The company has 106 suppliers, most of whom are located in America. However, a sizable minority are located in Canada, China, South Korea, and Taiwan. Each of Lowe’s stores stock 40,000 products at a time (with hundreds of thousands located in warehouses), so it only makes sense that it would have had to expand its manufacturing.
91. PG&E
Original Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Purchased By: N/A
Country: America
The Pacific Gas & Electric Company is located in San Francisco, California, and it provides gas and energy to 5.2 million households. The northern two-thirds of California, from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield, rely on PG&E for their electricity. The company generates half of its gas from greenhouse-gas-free resources, as a bonus.
The only foreign ties PG&E has are its contracts with China Mobile International Infrastructure. The Pacific Gas Company recently went through financial hardship when it declared bankruptcy. In July of 2020, it emerged from the restructuring process pretty much unscathed, leaving Chapter 11 and the courts behind.
92. Mondelez International
Original Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
Purchased By: Kraft Foods
Country: Canada
Mondelez International, Inc. is one of the largest snack companies in the world, and it brings in nearly $26 billion in revenue a year. Mondelez has operations in 160 countries, and its subsidiaries include familiar names like Cadbury, Nabisco, Freia, and more. The Chicago-headquartered company has manufacturing plants all around the world.
As Mondelez put it, it has invested “hundreds of millions” of dollars in its “worldwide production facilities.” Though the company might have started small, as National Dairy Products Corporation, it has continued to climb the ladder to become the huge, worldwide, multinational conglomerate it is today.
93. Fender Stratocaster
Original Headquarters: Corona, California
Purchased By: Servco Pacific
Country: China (Made In)
Fender Stratocaster is a guitar brand that musicians like Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley loved. Having a Stratocaster is a pricey symbol of dedication to music, and the Player Stratocaster is the entry-level model. Fender’s Player is under $700, while higher-priced Fenders, like the America Ultra HSS and the Acoustasonic, have higher price tags.
New Player models are made in China, and there are a range of YouTube videos showing people testing their Chinese-made Players against American ones (we’ll let you be the judge of which is better). Fender pulling production from American factories is nothing new—it did the same thing in the 1980s.
94. Under Armour
Original Headquarters: Baltimore, Maryland
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Asia (Made In)
Despite the spelling of “Armour,” Under Armour bills itself as an American company. Founded by Kevin Plank in 1996, Under Armour has grown to be one of the top producers of American sportswear and footwear. The company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland (though it was founded in Washington D.C.).
Under Armour might be headquartered here, but it makes the majority of their products overseas. Third-party manufacturers make almost all of its products. 55% of Under Armour products are made in Vietnam, Malaysia, Jordan, and China. Meanwhile, 70% of sales revenue is generated right in North America (primarily the U.S. and Canada).
95. Trump Collection
Original Headquarters: New York City, New York
Purchased By: The Trump Organization
Country: China (Made In)
The Trump Signature Collection is a menswear line from Donald Trump, owned by his parent corporation, The Trump Organization. The line is almost all made in China, though it seems like it would be an American company. Though owned by TTO, its manufacturing is decidedly not American.
The suits from The Trump Collection are either marked “imported,” or they’re stamped that they were made in Bangladesh or China. The line of clothing that Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, owns, is also imported. Over 800 of her shoes, purses, scarves, and dresses are marked as “imported” on the tags. Moral of the story: always check the labels.
96. Batesville Casket Company
Original Headquarters: Batesville, Indiana
Purchased By: Hillenbrand, Inc.
Country: Mexico (Made In)
Batesville Casket Company turned the funeral business commercial. The company was founded in 1884, and it has remained headquartered in Batesville, Indiana ever since. It has grown to 3,460 employees, the majority of whom work at BCC’s factories.
Three of Batesville’s factories are located in America, including one in Batesville, Indiana, one in Manchester, Tennessee, and a third in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Batesville has expanded to produce some of its caskets in Chihuahua, Mexico. Part of the reason for the foreign expansion is likely due to its competitors, which often sell cheaper caskets that have a lower price point because they were made overseas.
97. AT&T
Original Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Asia (Made In)
AT&T’s foreign connections come by way of their production locations. Phones and other technologies made by the global company are often produced in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Phones made at these plants have “Custom Made” stamps on them indicating which foreign factory they were produced in.
AT&T makes the majority of its revenue from telecom, media, and tech services. Its communications segment is by far its biggest earner, and it has since expanded even more into wireless video. Whether AT&T’s pursuit of wireless video as a revenue-grower will result in more Asian-made products is, for now, still unclear.
98. Microsoft
Original Headquarters: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Asia (Made In)
When people are asked to name America’s most iconic companies, there’s a strong chance that Microsoft comes up at least in their top ten. Founded in Albuquerque, the company has gone on to be one of the world leaders in technology and innovation.
Microsoft’s products were made in China for a while until 2020 when the company rapidly began shifting its products away from Chinese plants. Google followed suit, and the two tech giants have been quickly moving all of their foreign manufacturing to Thailand and Vietnam. As one tech publication put it, the two could “not get out of China quick enough.”
99. Rexnord
Original Headquarters: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Purchased By: RBS Global Inc.
Country: America
Founded in 1891, Rexnord is one of America’s oldest companies. The Milwaukee-based business sells pretty much everything you need to keep a machine running, including power transmission gear drives, couplings, bearings, industrial chains, brakes, and more.
Like many of the businesses on this list, Rexnord has a lot of locations and distributors in other countries, including China. It also has distributors in Canada, Mexico, Australia, India, Singapore, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Dubai, South Africa, and more. The company brings in $1.09 billion in sales each year, boasting a net profit of nearly $70 million as of 2016.
100. QVC
Original Headquarters: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Purchased By: Qurate Retail Group
Country: China (Made In)
QVC is worth over $8 billion, and it broadcasts its wares into more than 350 million homes. The shopping channel sells pretty much everything you can think of, and it has made more than a few people into multimillionaires. It’s not super easy to get your product on QVC but, if you do, you can end up with a pretty lucrative profit.
A large number of QVC’s products are made in China. Message boards in the QVC Community often share information on which vendors make their goods in China versus which don’t. As one person said, it’s hard to narrow down American-made items from the company.
101. University of California
Original Headquarters: Oakland, California
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Multinational
The University of California has ten campuses throughout the sunny state, and it boasts over a quarter-million students. The academic staff numbers 22,700, while the administrative staff numbers 154,900. UC has six “Public Ivies.” As of the summer of 2020, UC’s assets are in the $140 billion range. The university has over 150 academic disciplines from which to choose.
UC’s largest donors sometimes come from foreign countries, which is permitted. Though UC isn’t a company the way the other businesses on this list are, the university, along with many other universities throughout America, is the recipient of foreign donations.
102. Illinois Tool Works
Original Headquarters: Glenview, Illinois
Purchased By: N/A
Country: Multinational (Made In)
Illinois Tool Works produces pretty much every tool, from specialty products to engineered components. The company brings in over $14 billion in revenue each year, and its subsidiaries include names like Instron and the Hobart Corporation. The global industrial company makes its products in worldwide factories, having come a long way from the small Glenview business it once was.
ITW does business in fifty-three countries across the world, and it has over 45,000 employees. Patent-wise, it has 18,000 pending and granted patent applications. The global brand has eighty-five subsidiaries through its seven different business sections (of which automotive OEM is the largest).
103. Verizon
Original Headquarters: New York City, New York
Purchased By: AT&T (Partially)
Country: Multinational (Made In)
Verizon is the United States’ second-largest wireless carrier. It has 120.9 million subscribers and counting, and it was founded in the late nineties through a merger of Bell Atlantic and Vodafone, a British company. Though Bell Atlantic started as a small American telephone company, it grew rapidly.
Verizon Communications boasts revenues in the hundreds of billions, much of which comes from its wireless networks. The company is often in tough competition with AT&T. Though Verizon is headquartered in New York City, it is incorporated a little way south in Delaware, like many of the corporations on this list.
104. Sotheby’s
Original Headquarters: London, England
Purchased By: Patrick Drahi
Country: Israeli
Though Sotheby’s was founded in London in 1744 (before America was even a country yet), it is headquartered in New York City. The British-founded American MNC is one of the largest brokers in the world for fine, decorative art, collectibles, jewelry, antiques, and more. Obviously, Sotheby’s wouldn’t have the success it has had if it relegated itself only to America. The company is owned by Israeli-French businessman Patrick Drahi.
It has eighty locations in forty countries, though it still retains a significant presence in England. For all of its sales, Sotheby’s takes a 10% income. That can be quite lucrative, as the broker makes $400 million a year.
105. Harvey Nichols
Original Headquarters: London, England
Purchased By: Dickson Concepts
Country: Hong Kong
Harvey Nichols was headquartered in London, England, and it has developed a huge presence around the world as one of the largest department stores in the U.K. The luxury department store sells designer goods for men and women, as well as beauty products, luxury foods, fine wines, and fashion accessories.
Now, Harvey Nichols is owned by Dickson Concepts, a luxury goods company from Hong Kong. The purchase seems to have paid off for the department store as, despite the worldwide retail decline in 2020, the company made a 22.5% profit, thanks to its strong sales in Taiwan and China.
106. MG Rover
Original Headquarters: Birmingham, U.K.
Purchased By: SAIC Motor Company
Country: China
For a while, MG Rover Group was the last domestically-owned car manufacturer in England. Headquartered in Birmingham, the automaker was formed when carmaker BMW sold part of its assets to Phoenix Consortium in 2000. The company produced cars like the MG ZT until 2005, when it ceased operations.
Now, the company is headquartered in London, and it is a subsidiary of SAIC. SAIC Motor U.K., in turn, is owned by SAIC Motor, a Chinese, state-owned company based in Shanghai. Many Brits were sad to see MG Rover leave the country, as it marked the end of domestically-produced cars in England.
107. Rio Tinto
Original Headquarters: London, England
Purchased By: Aluminum Corporation of China (11%)
Country: China
Rio Tint, a global mining company, has quite a few shareholders. It doesn’t have a lot of shareholders in the Rio Tinto Group, its parent company, but its largest shareholder is the Chinese corporation, Aluminum Corp. of China. ACC owns 11% of Rio Tinto. Founded in England, Rio Tinto is the second-largest mining and metals corporation in the world, following only behind BHP.
It produces gold, uranium, copper, diamonds, and iron ore. Bringing in $63.5 billion in revenue a year. Rio Tinto has been around for over a century and a half, and the publicly-traded company has 45,000 employees.
108. Kent & Curwen
Original Headquarters: London, England
Purchased By: Trinity Ltd.
Country: China
Founded in London, this menswear retailer has been in business since 1926, marking nearly a century of selling clothing. The company first made a name for itself by selling ties to Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Then, it introduced its first cricket sweater in the 1930s, and the company took off from there.
Trinity Ltd., a Hong Kong conglomerate, owns Kent & Curwen now. In 2021, Trinity Ltd. went through bankruptcy, as it amassed tens of millions of losses in a short time. When RSM Hong Kong, along with R&H Services, were hired to liquidate Trinity Group, K&C had to cease trading in the U.K.
109. Delphi Corp
Original Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan (G.M.)
Purchased By: Aptiv P.L.C.
Country: Ireland
Delphi is the former arm of G.M., and it has been shedding its conventional car businesses since it was spun off by General Motors into a separate company. Delphi Automotive System went defunct, and, in its place were Delphi Technologies and Aptiv.
Delphi Technologies was purchased by BorgWarner, who owns 84% of the company, which trades on the NYSE. Aptiv, by contrast, is not an American company anymore. Aptiv is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and it brings in nearly $13.1 billion in revenue a year. The automotive tech supplier is a worldwide leader in the industry of vehicle electronics and transportation components.
110. Alliance HealthCare Services Inc
Original Headquarters: Irvine, California
Purchased By: Akumin Corp.
Country: Canada
Alliance Healthcare Services is a leading provider for outsourced procedures and other treatments. It is headquartered in Irvin, California, and it is owned by Akumin Corp., a company based in Toronto, Canada. The radiology and oncology company sold for $820 million to Akumin in 2021.
Akumin has companies in the U.S. and Canada. It is a leading provider of fixed-site, freestanding diagnostic centers in America, with ninety-five imaging centers across the country. Before Akumin bought Alliance, Tahoe Investment Group, a Chinese company, bought it for $178 million. As you can see, Tahoe made quite a profit when they resold Alliance.
111. Volvo
Original Headquarters: Gothenburg, Sweden
Purchased By: Geely Automobile
Country: China
Volvo U.S.A. is a common sight in America, and millions of people drive these station wagons, SUVs, and sedans. The company’s main claim to fame is its marketing, as well as its Swedish design and heritage. Though Volvo U.S.A. is prominent here, the company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Volvo is a Swedish company at heart, but its current owner is Chinese. The luxury automaker was actually owned by Ford between 1999 to 2010 as part of its Premier Auto brand before Geely Automobile, a major car brand in China, took over Volvo. Despite changing hands, Volvo has kept its reputation as a maker of safe family cars.
112. Club Med
Original Headquarters: Paris, France
Purchased By: Fosun Group
Country: China
Club Med was founded in 1950 as a tourism and travel operator. Gerard Blitz founded the company after opening a low-priced tent colony in Majorca. He marketed this getaway through Club Med. Now, the travel company is known for its all-inclusive holidays. Club Med has destinations all over the world on nearly all of the continents.
The first Club Med was built in Salerno, Italy, and the villages were very simple. Members stayed in straw huts on the beach, sharing communal bathrooms. Obviously, Club Med has come a long way since then, offering high-end villas. Since 2013, Club Med’s biggest owner is Fosun Group, a Chinese conglomerate.
113. Cerruti
Original Headquarters: Paris, France
Purchased By: Trinity Ltd.
Country: China
Cerruti 1881 is a luxury brand that sells jeans, sportswear, watches, leather goods, fragrances, and accessories. It was founded by Nino Cerutti in 1967 in Paris, France. Cerruti has grown to become a well-known fashion company, and it was purchased by Trinity Ltd., a Hong Kong business, before the parent company went into liquidation.
Fashion Network said that, luckily for Cerruti 1881, not much “truly changed” for the business when Trinity went into liquidation. The luxury label is still in flux, waiting for a decision from the Hong Kong court about whether it will also be liquidated. Until that decision comes through, Cerruti 1881 plans to trade as usual through its licenses.
114. The Dreyfuss Group
Original Headquarters: London, England
Purchased By: International Volant Limited
Country: China
The Dreyfuss Group was founded in the early 1900s, and it is known for repairing watches, jewelry, and clocks. The Group was incorporated in the mid-1950s, and it has its headquarters on London’s Regent Street. Decades after it was first founded, the Dreyfuss Group was purchased by International Volant Limited, a company that formed in 1993.
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