kernals12
Banned
A conglomerate is a type of rock made up of many different types of sediment. It is also a type of corporation that controls many distinct and unrelated lines of business. In the 60s, they were very common. I.T.T. (International Telephone and Telegraph), under the leadership of Harold Geneen, acquired Sheraton Hotels, Avis Rent-A-Car, Continental Baking (makers of Wonderbread), and Hartford Fire Insurance, among many others. Ling-Temco-Vought, under David Ling, bought Vought aircraft, National Car Rental, Braniff Airways, Jones and Laughlin Steel, and Wilson and Sons Sporting Equipment among others. Other conglomerates included Litton, Textron, Teledyne, and Gulf and Western. But then investors discovered that 2+2 does not equal 5 and in some cases can equal 3. The conglomerates spun off most of their unrelated businesses after 1970, and the only remaining old fashioned Western conglomerate I can think of is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway which owns Dairy Queen, Geico Insurance, Fruit of the Loom, NetJets, several newspapers and car dealerships and many others. In the rest of the world however, this business model remains quite common, whether it be Japanese Kereitsu like Sumitomo and Mitsubishi, South Korean Chaebol like Samsung, or Indian industrial groups like Tata and Mahindra.
So how can it be that today, the West still has multiple corporations that rent cars, make golf balls, and underwrite insurance?
So how can it be that today, the West still has multiple corporations that rent cars, make golf balls, and underwrite insurance?
Last edited: