Some American Icons are Foreign Owned
From the beer you drink, to the food that you feed you baby, to the tires on your car, it is likely that if the product is not foreign made, the company making the product is owned by a foreign corporation.
After years of failed “free trade” policies and little oversight or protection of America’s most vital companies, tens of thousands of domestic corporations have been purchased by foreign interests, putting some of America‘s most famous brands in the hands of foreign corporations, according to 24/7 Wall Street.
Still called “The Great American lager,” Budweiser should perhaps loan that name to Sam Adams or Miller Brewing Company, because Anheuser Bush is now owned by a Belgian company. Founded in 1876, the company was purchased by InBev in 2008.
Antacid and pain reliever Alka Seltzer was launched in the U.S. in 1956 and became very popular domestically through its unique advertising. The company, however, was sold to Germany pharmaceutical company Bayer AG in 1979.
Firestone, which fueled the growth of the city of Akron, Ohio, is no longer American owned after it was purchased by Japanese company Bridgestone in 1988.
Two of America’s most famous magazines, Car and Driver and Woman’s Day, are now owned by Hachette Filipacchi Médias, S.A., which is the largest magazine publisher in the world and is based in France. The magazines combined have a total circulation of 5.1 million.
Two Swiss companies own perhaps the most famous brands in baby food and dog food. Gerber, which owns 80 percent of the U.S. baby food market, was sold in the mid-1990s to Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Novartis. In 2001, Swiss company Nestle purchased pet food brand Purina.
Unilever, a Dutch and British corporation, has been very busy purchasing some of America’s most iconic brands over the past two decades Invented in New York City in 1905, Hellman’s Mayonnaise came under Unilever’s control in 2000. That same year, the company also purchased Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The company also owns Popsicle and Vaseline.
According to 24/7 Wall Street, the objective isn’t always to simply purchase successful brands and live off their fame. Oftentimes, companies are simply seeking to get a foot in the door in the American marketplace.
“The purchase of the IBM ThinkPad brand by China-based Lenovo and the buyout of Firestone by Japan-based Bridgestone allowed each of the acquirers to obtain large revenues in the U.S.,” according to 24/7 Wall Street. “It would have otherwise taken the companies years to launch their own American brands.”
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