The oldest, continuously running, independent business in the world?
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
This whole list is actually quite interesting:
I never would have guessed that.
“It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies.”
“The Dutch East India Company remained an important trading concern for almost two centuries, paying an 18% annual dividend for almost 200 years. In its declining years in the late 18th century it was referred to as Vergaan Onder Corruptie (referring to the acronym VOC) which translates as 'Perished By Corruption'.”
Some people say that the grandpa build the business, dad grow the business, and the son wreck the business. So these families might have ways or tradition to transmit knowledge and wisdom to their offsprings, or maybe they're just incredibly lucky.
The idea being, businesses that have great fundamental economics and competitive advantages are going to be much more sustainable and thus more likely to compound wealth over time.
If you look at the lists, a lot of these are businesses that are fundamental and cater towards basic human needs/wants. For example, note all the hotels on the list. Maybe they have a fantastic really critical location in a country that has good property laws. That means you can keep transferring it through your bloodline and as long as nobody does anything too stupid (e.g.: take on crazy amounts of debt, go wild and de-worsify) the hotel should continue to exist.
There's actually a range of industries in the top 10 - construction, inn keeping, viticulture, goldsmithing and others.
What differentiate a profitable church from a company, other than a different legal structure?
Rupert Murdoch currently only ticks one, maybe two of those boxes.
They've executed (lots of) people with their power via sovereignty.
If you mean the church on the corner, well there is no difference, they are simply a profitable business that pays no taxes (the clergy are often owning nicer homes and driving nicer cars than their patrons).
I expect this is common in US megachurches. It certainly isn't the case everywhere. For instance, in the Church of England here in the UK the person who runs the church on the corner is probably poorer than most of the congregation. (Their salaries are very, very low. There's one big thing that makes up for that, which is that the church provides them with a house, usually quite a nice one.)
(Note: I am not any sort of apologist for the clergy; I am an outspoken atheist. But I have friends and family who work for churches, and I have a decent idea of how little they are paid.)
If you're talking about the Inquisition, then the church did not have sovereignty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company
The company responsible for much of the misery throughout Americas.
Today they go by as Chiquita.