The 10 most ruthless companies in business today have used various tactics and moves over the years that may be questionable at best and even seem totally unethical. However, while these companies are perceived as bad or evil (take a look at 10 most evil companies in the US), they are also among the leaders in their respective industries. So, the phrase “nice guys finish last” is totally applicable here.
There are many stores all over the internet about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) lowering prices to drive out the competition and about the company’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos being horrible to his employees. Yet, Amazon is the best online retailer and is unlikely to be beaten in the near future. And Mr. Bezos is not the only executive that tough on his employees, the business world is full of them, with the list of their misdeeds including shouting at employees, demeaning them, and even resorting to discrimination and misogyny. It’s not necessarily a bad thing since successful companies are made successful by the people that work there and a competitive environment is what ensures that only the toughest and most ambitious stay, a “purposeful Darwinism” as Amazon’s culture was described a couple of years ago.
The corporate world is a cruel and ruthless place, where, despite the scrutiny from the government and public eye, bad things happen very frequently. Shareholders push companies to cut costs and increase profits, which often lead to reductions in employees and hundreds of people out of work, among other things. Companies lobby the government to pass laws that can be harmful to people and even deadly if we look at the gun laws. Drug makers set exorbitant prices on drugs and fewer people can afford them, which can also lead to death. The list of ruthless practices that companies employ can go on and on.
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However, as stated earlier, ruthless companies are the ones to succeed and to keep their position at the top. In turn, this is what makes these companies great investments. Survey Monkey conducted a survey that included companies in the Fortune 100 list on positive and negative dimensions. The survey found that some of the companies Americans consider to be the most ruthless companies in business today are also among the companies that would make the best investments. The survey also found that companies that are considered the most ruthless are also among the worst for the USA and many are among the companies that have the most negative global impact.
With this in mind, let’s proceed to the list of the 10 most ruthless companies in business today. The list is based on Survey Monkey’s survey and we are also going to take a look at some of the actions that earned these companies the reputation of “most ruthless companies”.
10. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)
The list of the 10 most ruthless companies in business today starts with AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Alongside other big carriers, AT&T is rated low on Consumer Reports and earlier this year it raised the price on its grandfathered unlimited plans for the second time in two years as it apparently tries to convince customers to move to other plans. There might be other things that make people dislike AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) to the point of naming it as one of the most ruthless companies in business, yet AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is considered a good stock to invest in and is a dividend aristocrat with a relatively high yield.
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9. DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP)
DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) is another company on the list, as it replaced Dow Chemical, which was in fact the company that Americans rated last year (DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) has been formed earlier this year). Being a chemical company, it’s not surprising that DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) is among the most ruthless companies, as its record has many questionable practices. Just earlier this year, the company tried to push the White House administration to ignore the evidence that a family of widely used pesticide is harmful to about 1,800 endangered species. The company also successfully fought a ban on chlorpyfiros despite the fact that studies showed that its harmful to people. Dow Chemical was also named as one of the worst for the country and landed on the third spot among companies with the most negative global impact.
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8. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)
As the memory of the Great Recession is still fresh, it’s not surprising that Americans are not very fond of banks, as they named several of them among the most ruthless companies in business today. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) got off easy, so to say, as it’s only on the eighth spot in the list. Last year, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) agreed to pay $3.2 billion for its role in the subprime mortgage housing crisis that led to the recession.
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7. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is another telecom company that landed on the list. Both AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), which was mentioned previously, and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have the largest market shares in the telecom market, so they formed a sort-of oligopoly on the US market. This allows them to charge higher prices and spend less on infrastructure, which results in their low ratings from consumers.
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6. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
As one of the largest oil companies in the world, there’s no question about Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s ruthlessness. From misleading the public about climate change and supporting organizations that promote climate change denial to former CEO and current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s amicable relations with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s cruel dictator, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has a long list of “achievements” that make it a ruthless company. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was also named the fourth worst-for-the-country company in the Survey Monkey poll.
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5. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
On the fifth spot in the list of the 10 most ruthless companies in business today is Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), whose ruthless behavior goes past being one of the largest Internet Service Providers in the US. The company, together with other telecom giants, is fighting net neutrality. It is also charging high prices and was accused by Netflix of throttling bandwidth.
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4. Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)
As stated earlier, Americans don’t like banks and think they are ruthless due to their actions before and during the last financial crisis. In 2014, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) ended paying a record $16.65 billion to end investigations into the sale of mortgage securities during the subprime housing boom. According to Survey Monkey, Americans also consider Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) to be one of the worst companies for the country.
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3. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is another bank that ended up on the list of the most ruthless companies in business today. Moreover, Americans also ranked JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) as the second-worst company for the country and one of the top 10 companies with the most negative global impact. And it doesn’t help that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) had to pay $13 billion in connection with its role in the recession.
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2. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) is the most ruthless bank according to Americans surveyed by Survey Monkey. The bank’s strong connections with the White House administrations are well known and it is consistently tanked among the most powerful corporations in the world. It also has a bad reputation of deception, corruption, and manipulation, which resulted in it being frequently targeted by politicians and the press. For example, during the election campaign, Donald Trump on multiple occasions attacked Hillary Clinton for accepting money for speeches at Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) (yet it didn’t bother him to fill the administration with Goldman Sachs alumni, but that’s another issue).
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1. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT)
Finally, there’s Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which Americans don’t consider only to be the most ruthless company, but also the worst for the country and the one with the most negative global impact. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which is also the largest private employer in the US, has many practices that earn it this reputation, such as driving out local business by offering much lower prices, fiercely fighting against unions within its stores, underpaying women, etc.
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These are the 10 most ruthless companies in business today as they were rated by Americans in a Survey Monkey survey. There may be many others, given that the list in this article focuses only on Fortune 100 companies. Yet, the companies in this list have done things that can be easily accepted as cruel, but, nevertheless, they are also the largest players in their respective industries, which means that Americans are willing to overlook some ruthless practices in exchange for better services, products, prices.
Disclosure: none
