Apple is the first US company to boast a market value of US$2 trillion (NZ$3t), just two years after it became the first to reach US$1 trillion. Apple has been at the vanguard of a group of Big Tech companies that are increasingly taking over people’s lives – and the stock market. Just five companies – Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google’s parent company – account for nearly 23 per cent of the S&P 500’s entire value. Saudi Aramco reached a market value of US$2 trillion shortly after becoming a public company in December 2019. The Saudi energy producer's shares have fallen since amid a drop in oil prices and its market value is now about US$1.82 trillion.

Source: Stuff August 19, 2020 18:00 UTC