- Press Release
New Report Shows How Immigrant Entrepreneurs Create Jobs Across the U.S.
New Report Examines Immigrant Roots of America's Largest Companies
WASHINGTON, DC, Sept 9, 2024 — A new report from the American Immigration Council highlights how immigrant entrepreneurs create jobs and make the U.S. a more prosperous place.
The report found that as of 2024, 46.0 percent of all Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children. It is the highest level recorded since Council researchers started tracking immigrant entrepreneurs in annual reviews since 2011.
“This report shows how immigrants are a boon for our economy, driving job creation and keeping the U.S. economy dynamic and competitive at a global level,” said Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council. “Our country is stronger and richer thanks to those who’ve immigrated here, and we need our policymakers to recognize that reality.”
The Council’s research shows that Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or children of immigrants—including Amazon, DoorDash, and Apple—employ 15.5 million people worldwide, more than the population in Pennsylvania.
“We know that immigrants are far more likely than U.S.-born Americans to start their own business. This generates a ripple effect of more opportunities and greater prosperity for our communities,” said Steve Hubbard, senior data scientist at the American Immigration Council and report co-author. “When our political leaders look for solutions for future challenges to our U.S. economy, like labor shortages or an aging population, the answer lies in welcoming immigrants.”
Other top findings from the report include:
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Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants and children of immigrants are a global economic power. In FY2023, the 230 companies on the Council’s list generated $8.6 trillion in revenue. If these immigrant-founded companies were a standalone country, they would have been the third-largest economy in the world, surpassing nations like Japan, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom.
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States with large immigrant populations benefit immensely from the Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants and their children. New York, California, and Texas are the top states hosting the most of these Fortune 500 companies, with 32, 28, and 22 companies headquartered in those states, respectively. These companies provide a substantial economic boost to their states, driving business investment, innovation, and job creation at the local level.
The American Immigration Council has experts available to comment further about the benefits that immigrants bring to the U.S. economy, at a national and state level.
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About the American Immigration Council
The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change—litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. In January 2022, the Council and New American Economy merged to combine a broad suite of advocacy tools to better expand and protect the rights of immigrants, more fully ensure immigrants’ ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities they settle in more welcoming. Follow the latest Council news and information on ImmigrationImpact.com and X @immcouncil.