The Dutch East India Co was richer than Apple, Google, Facebook combined (2017)

Re:The Dutch East India Co was richer than Apple, Google, Fa... by san_dimitri on Wednesday April 10, 2019 @02:31AM (#19622353)

I don’t think it’s a valid comparison. Comparing a company which had an army and used force to occupy and obtain its wealth is not how corporates work today. Today there is deceptive advertising and marketing which are not the same as army and force.

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Re:The Dutch East India Co was richer than Apple, Google, Fa... by apexalpha on Wednesday April 10, 2019 @04:31AM (#19622838)

Saudi-Aramco might be something that comes very close to the VOC: a for-profit company protected by armed forces, arguably for hire.

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Re:The Dutch East India Co was richer than Apple, Google, Fa... by kiliantics on Wednesday April 10, 2019 @11:13AM (#19625489)

There are plenty of companies using de-facto militaries for their wealth extraction, e.g. in African mines: https://projects.icij.org/fatalextraction/

Colonialism is still alive and kicking

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Re:The Dutch East India Co was richer than Apple, Google, Fa... by pjmlp on Wednesday April 10, 2019 @03:30AM (#19622595)

I bet there are a couple of armies and corrupt goverments on the payroll of some corporations, tracked down as business expenses.

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