(NEW YORK) Nearly half of the nation’s largest companies now trace their origins to immigrants. As of August 22, 2025, the American Immigration Council reports that 231 of the Fortune 500—more than 46%—were founded by immigrants or their children. That’s the highest share on record, up from 43% in 2017, and it comes as the policy climate grows tighter for foreign-born workers, founders, and families.
The companies tied to immigrant roots generated $8.6 trillion in revenue in 2023 and employed over 15.5 million people worldwide, underscoring the deep role immigrant talent plays in the U.S. economy.
Record Share of Corporate Giants with Immigrant Roots
The new data shows:
- 109 companies were founded by immigrants
- 122 were founded by children of immigrants
- Together they make up 46.2% of the Fortune 500
The list includes household names across technology, retail, finance, and manufacturing. The concentration is strongest in states that serve as gateways for capital and talent:
- New York: 32 immigrant-founded or second-generation companies
- California: 28 immigrant-founded or second-generation companies
These hubs remain magnets for venture funding and global talent pipelines, helping explain why many top firms formed or scaled there.
The 2025 roster saw 10 new companies with immigrant roots join the Fortune 500, including DoorDash and EchoStar. Their entry highlights a broader trend: immigrant founders and second-generation leaders continue pushing into the top tier even as the policy environment hardens.
The figures appear in the American Immigration Council’s 2025 report, “New American Fortune 500 in 2024: The Largest American Companies and Their Immigrant Roots,” which remains the standard reference for this subject in business and policy circles.
Economic footprint and local impact
By revenue and employment alone, the immigrant-founded and second-generation cohort rivals the economic output of many countries. This translates into tangible local effects:
- Jobs in distribution centers, labs, call centers, and headquarters from New York to Dallas, and Phoenix to Atlanta
- State and local revenues from sales taxes and property investment
- Ripple effects on schools, transit, and housing
New York’s dominance reflects long-standing networks around finance, media, and trade. It signals to city and state officials that policy choices—on visas, business licensing, and support for global founders—can tilt where the next growth wave takes root. When founders feel welcome, they form teams, raise money, and build factories; when they don’t, those same founders set up elsewhere.
Policy Crackdown Collides With Corporate Reality
The record share of immigrant-rooted companies arrives as immigration policy grows more restrictive in 2025. In his second term, President Trump has advanced wide-ranging changes, including:
- Expanded immigration enforcement and detention under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed July 4, 2025, which quadruples the ICE detention budget and allows indefinite family detention.
- Mandatory registration for many immigrants beginning April 11, 2025, described by officials as a tool to identify and deport undocumented immigrants.
- Broader checks on all 55 million U.S. visa holders, with reviews that include social media and phone data for possible violations.
- Stricter standards for naturalization and visa approvals, including new reviews on “anti-Americanism” and “good moral character.”
- Repeal of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and other relief programs, which would remove work authorization for hundreds of thousands of people.
Business leaders warn these moves could weaken key talent channels and add new risks for global hiring and cross-border teams. Company counsels now face heavier compliance demands and fewer options for foreign-born workers to adjust status or keep work authorization.
- Startups led by first-generation founders may find hiring harder.
- Large firms could see higher costs and project delays if employees face visa denials or fear of detention.
The policy shifts also hit families. If TPS ends, many long-settled workers would lose permission to work — affecting spouses, mortgages, and school choices, not just payrolls. For official information on TPS, the government maintains guidance at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status. Workers and employers say they need clarity fast to plan projects, renew contracts, and keep teams on track.
Debate over measurement and interpretation
Not everyone agrees on how to read the corporate numbers:
- Critics (e.g., the Center for Immigration Studies) argue the count of “immigrant-founded” firms is too broad because it includes mixed founding teams and second-generation leaders. Their estimate placed the share founded solely by immigrants at about 22% in 2024.
- Supporters counter that major companies often have multiple founders and that second-generation leadership belongs in the count because family roots, capital, and networks matter in the birth of a company.
The American Immigration Council and many business groups back the inclusive figure, noting its long use by economists and investors.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, corporate leaders continue to warn that tighter rules can push top researchers and founders to friendlier markets abroad. That risk rises when policy uncertainty drags on for months. Venture capital follows talent, and talent follows pathways that let people work, travel, and bring families with them.
What It Means for Workers, Founders, and States
For workers
The Fortune 500 statistics show how central immigrants are to daily life in the United States. From food delivery platforms to satellite communications, companies tied to first- and second-generation founders touch logistics, health care, and consumer finance.
Employers say they need:
- Stable, predictable visa and green card processes
- Reliable timelines to place people where they’re needed and keep long-term projects on schedule
For founders
The path from a seed idea to a public listing can take years. Unclear rules on work authorization, detention, or vetting can:
- Scare off co-founders
- Delay lab work
- Disrupt travel critical for fundraising
Policies that squeeze graduate students, postdocs, and early-career engineers shrink the talent bench startups depend on. Many venture-backed firms started with foreign-born students who studied in the U.S. and stayed to build teams. If fewer stay, fewer companies scale into the Fortune 500.
For states
The gap between New York and California at the top and everyone else points to a competition driven by human capital as much as taxes.
- New York’s 32 immigrant-rooted Fortune 500 companies reflect Wall Street’s pull plus a broad base of trade, design, and back-office work.
- California’s 28 mirror deep tech and life sciences clusters.
Other states can grow by backing programs that help foreign-born founders set up shop, connect to investors, and hire quickly.
Trends, outlook, and practical advice
The historical trend is clear: the share of Fortune 500 companies with immigrant roots has climbed steadily over the last decade, reaching 46% in 2025. Revenues and jobs tied to this slice have grown with it. This reality strengthens calls from business groups for more inclusive rules—especially on work visas, permanent residence options, and family unity—that let employers plan across years, not quarters.
The debate over measurement will continue: restrictionist voices will press for a narrow definition of “immigrant-founded,” while economists and private-sector leaders argue for a broader view that reflects team-based company formation.
Advocacy groups plan to track how new enforcement and vetting rules affect hiring, retention, and company formation. Potential developments include:
- Lawsuits that could change detention and registration measures.
- Court orders that pause parts of the new rules, requiring quick updates from employers and workers.
- Regular data releases from the American Immigration Council and similar groups as more company information becomes available.
Practical steps recommended by general counsels and HR heads:
- Keep records current and save proof of lawful status.
- Work with qualified immigration lawyers.
- Review travel plans for staff who may face extra screening.
- For students and early-career professionals: plan for longer processing times and build backups for key dates (program starts, major product launches).
Final takeaways
Even amid tighter rules, 10 new immigrant-rooted companies joined the Fortune 500 in 2025. That points to the ongoing pull of the U.S. market, the depth of investor networks, and founders’ determination to grow here.
For now, the facts stand:
- 231 of the Fortune 500—with $8.6 trillion in revenue and over 15.5 million employees—tie back to immigrants and their children.
This story is written in factory shifts, data centers, and storefronts across the country — and in dorm rooms, co-working spaces, and family kitchens where ideas take shape. Policymakers can debate definitions and lines, but the role of immigrant talent in building the country’s biggest companies remains unmistakable.
This Article in a Nutshell
In 2025, 231 Fortune 500 companies (46.2%) trace to immigrants or their children, generating $8.6 trillion and employing 15.5 million, even as restrictive policies risk disrupting talent and hiring pipelines.
