The Dutch East India Company was the largest company in history. Also the first company trading stocks at the Amsterdam stock exchange.
The company was as large as 20 of our largest companies combined, it was as large as the GDP of Germany and Japan together.
Amazing achievement from this tiny country.
I am sorry, but it makes no sense.
Dutch east india company profits were:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company"the long-term average annual profit in the VOC's 1630–70 'Golden Age' was 2.1 million guilders, of which just under half was distributed as dividends and the remainder reinvested. The long-term average annual profit in the 'Expansion Age' (1680–1730) was 2.0 million guilders, of which three-quarters was distributed as dividend and one-quarter reinvested. In the earlier period, profits averaged 18 percent of total revenues; in the latter period, 10 percent. The annual return of invested capital in the earlier period stood at approximately 6 percent; in the latter period, 3.4 percent."
According to the following 1 guilder was either about $12-15 or $100 (or, maybe, fluctuated between these two with $12-15 being more reliable (later) number.
https://lensonleeuwenhoek.net/content/what-was-guilder-worthTherefore, 2.1 mil guilders yearly profit is just $32-210 mil in CURRENT buying power.
NO way $32-210 mil in profit can get you ANYTHING close to trillions that you quoted, unless something is wrong with value calculation.
Besides, the population of earth was just 500mil back than. Not enough people to get to the valuation that high.
TL;DR this valuation is a MYTH.
