NEW YORK: Exxon Mobil has unseated Wal-Mart Stores to top the 2009 Fortune 500 list after a year the magazine called the worst ever for the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies.

Fortune ranks companies by revenue. Exxon shrugged off plummeting oil prices to take the No. 1 spot with $442.85 billion in revenue in 2008.

Wal-Mart had held the top spot for six of the last seven years.

The retail giant slipped to No. 2, with $405.6 billion in revenue.

Fortune released the list on Sunday, calling 2008 the worst year for the 500 companies on its closely watched list.

It says earnings fell 85 percent – the biggest one-year decline in the list’s 55-year history. – AP

ps.: “the rich getting richer, the poor … ”

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Fortune 500 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2009 Fortune 500: Exxon Mobil back on top
Exxon Mobil overtakes Wal-Mart to top Fortune 500
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