Do your kids know these companies? (Rich vs Wealthy)
- Will Rainey
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
This week I showed my daughters a list of the 10 largest companies in the world and asked them if they'd heard of them.
This is the list I showed (based on public market price as at 24 April 2026):
Microsoft *
Apple *
NVIDIA
Saudi Aramco
Alphabet (Google) *
Amazon *
Meta (Facebook, Instagram) *
Berkshire Hathaway
TSMC
Eli Lilly and Company
They'd heard of 5* out of the list of 10. That means, there are 5 of the largest companies in the world, that generate billions of dollars a year, that they've never heard of.
Rich vs Wealthy
The reason I shared this list with them was to highlight a simple idea:
Sometimes money is invisible.
We don’t always see where the money is or who has it.
My daughters were surprised to learn that NVIDIA, a company they had not heard of, is worth more than 10 times Nike, a brand they know and love.
That led to a helpful way of thinking about one of my favourite topics: Rich vs Wealthy.
Some companies are like “Rich” people. They are visible, well known, and get a lot of attention. Everyone talks about them, so they appear very successful. Some of them are actually very successful, like Apple.
However, there are also companies where there is a big difference between how successful they appear and how they perform financially. For example, Roblox, Uber, and Spotify have huge attention but have found it harder to turn that into consistent profit. This is similar to people who appear to have a lot of money but don’t actually have much saved.
Then there are companies that are more like “Wealthy” people. They don’t seek attention, and many people don’t even know they exist, but they quietly generate significant value.
The key message is simple. When it comes to money, appearances can be misleading. Attention doesn’t always mean wealth. This is true whether you are looking at companies or people.
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Investing: The Power of Diversification
Whilst the Rich vs Wealthy idea was the reason for sharing the list, I followed up with another question:
“Do you own NVIDIA?”
I was glad when they answered “yes”.
They know that they own thousands of companies because we invest in a simple global fund on their behalf. That means they own a small part of many of the world’s largest companies.
I reminded them of The Storm from Grandpa’s Fortune Fables.
Kai had one type of tree in his forest, and it didn’t survive the storm. Grandpa had many different types of trees. Some were damaged, but many survived and flourished.
The same idea applies to investing. It is better to own many companies than just a few, i.e., diversify your investments.
I brought this to life using NVIDIA. Today, NVIDIA is more than 10 times larger than Nike. But around 10 years ago, it was the other way around. Nike was significantly larger than NVIDIA.
Investors who didn’t own NVIDIA back then would have missed out on one of the biggest growth stories of the past decade.
The challenge is that no one really knows which company will be the next NVIDIA, or which companies will struggle in the future.
That is why diversification matters. By owning a wide range of companies, you don’t have to predict the future. You simply make sure that when the winners emerge, you are already invested in them.
There will always be people who claim they can pick the next big winner. Some may get it right occasionally, but very few can do it consistently over time. And they often charge high fees for trying.
Try it with your kids
Ask your kids if they have heard of the 10 largest companies in the world.
It is a great way to introduce the idea of Rich vs Wealthy using real examples.
It can also open up a conversation about investing. If you have not spoken to your kids about investing yet, you might find my blog How to Teach Kids About the Stock Market helpful, or you could share Grandpa’s Fortune Fables with them.
I believe that kids who understand how money grows will have a real advantage in life.
👉 What to read next to help kids learn about money:
The Titanic Money Lesson (Interesting)
How to teach your kids the most important sales skill (Popular)
Age-by-age guide to teaching kids about money (Essential)
Thanks for reading,
Will
P.S., I really appreciate all the reviews of my book Grandpa’s Fortune Fables. If you have read it, it would mean a lot if you could leave an online review. It really does help the book reach more families.
