> I do wonder how many people know that the wealthiest companies are private

Well then this was a misleading thing to say. You don't know that this is true

You are correct, and I apologize for making such an assertion without any evidence.

I think what I meant more was the conflation of wealth and power, and the need to look beyond just the name of a certain corporation. Autocratic rulers don't technically run a corporation nor sit on the board, but I doubt anybody would defy their orders if asked. In that sense, they do "own" the corporation. This is also not mentioning the nature of shell and holding corporations which obfuscate liability and ownership, but operate according to their owner's wishes despite their disjoint legal nature.

But no I can't find any proof that any are bigger than the largest publicly traded corporations, so again, sorry.