Public v.s Private

Interviews with local (that is, West Michigan) 100-year-old companies indicated that remaining privately-owned was a key factor in company survival over the long term. (Many of those interviewed were adamant about this!) We decided to test that theory on our new data base of over 400 old companies from throughout the U.S. Turns out 62% of these old companies are privately-held, with 38% being publicly-traded. This sounds as if the theory proves out until one compares these numbers with U.S. companies in general, where well over 90% of firms are private!