captures since I look at Europe and see that their big companies are old. It is partially about superior American innovation, mobilization of capital and founding of new industries, but it is partially a quirk of organizations. European productivity is channeled through existing orgs for better or worse.

Also, Saudi Aramco was mentioned. In some sense wasn't their company founded 100 million years ago by decaying sea creatures? Some trillion-dollar companies built new things and created new markets. Saudi Aramco just placed control of an ancient asset into a new legal entity. (I may be underselling Saudi Aramco here, but this is my impression.)