A Brief History
On August 3, 1900, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded in Akron, Ohio, joining Goodyear Tire and Rubber in Akron as the two preeminent tire makers in the US for the next 75 years. In 1988, Japanese tire maker, Bridgestone, bought Firestone.
Digging Deeper
While Goodyear is still an American company, other US tire companies have been acquired by foreign firms, including General Tire now owned by Continental AG of Germany, and BF Goodrich tire division is now part of Michelin based in France.
Once one of the “Big Three” US car companies, Chrysler Corporation is now part of Stellantis, a multinational corporation based in Amsterdam. Here are more foreign owned US companies:
Burger King, Firehouse Subs, and Popeye’s are owned by Canada.
Holiday Inn is now a UK company.
Hoover, the Ohio vacuum company is owned by Hong Kong.
And worst of all, IBM is now owned by China.
Note: This list is but a fraction of the many, many brands and companies you might think of as “American” that are actually now foreign owned. Think Budweiser, Forbes, Ben and Jerry’s, and more.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What foreign owned US company shocks you the most?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Dickson, Paul et al. Firestone : A Legend. A Century. A Celebration. The Firestone Centennial 1900-2000. Forbes Custom Pub,, 2000.
Maynard, Micheline. The Selling of the American Economy: How Foreign Companies Are Remaking the American Dream. Crown Currency, 2009.
