The top ten largest companies have a whopping combined revenue of $2.9 trillion, which is larger than China’s tax revenue. The US, China, Germany, Japan, France and the UK comprise the top six economic entities followed by Italy, Brazil and Canada.
Walmart ranks as the 10th largest with a revenue of over $482 billion, which is larger than the taxes of Spain, Australia and the Netherlands.
“The vast wealth and power of corporations is at the heart of so many of the world’s problems – like inequality and climate change,” said Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now.
“The drive for short-term profits today seems to trump basic human rights for millions of people on the planet. These figures show the problem is getting worse,” he added.
Global Justice Now said it released the figures in an effort to put increased pressure on the British government ahead of their UN working group, established to draw up a binding treaty to ensure multinational corporations abide by the full range of human rights responsibilities.
“The UK government has facilitated this rise in corporate power – through tax structures, trade deals and even aid programmes that help big business,” said Dearden.