McKesson is a pharmaceutical sales company that produces more than $120 billion in sales each year. The company is a Fortune 500 Company, as well as the 14th most successful company in the United States based on revenue. You may have heard of the company, but there are plenty of things you don’t know about the massive pharmaceutical retailer.
History
McKesson was founded almost 200 years ago. In 1833, two men in New York City opened a little business in which they imported drugs of the botanical nature. The company was a small operation that began to grow rapidly upon its formation. Today, it’s one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
It Was Rocked with Scandal
McKesson is not without scandal. The company is actually the reason behind the nation’s strict auditing rules thanks to the McKesson & Robbins scandal in 1938. The men behind the scandal in the company managed to work the books so that nearly $20 million in worth was bogus. The scandal paved the way for major securities changes in the coming years.
It’s a Name Changer
McKesson has changed names a few times over the course of the years. When it was first founded, the company went by the name of Olcott & McKesson. When Charles Olcott passed away, the company became McKesson & Robbins. For a while it was Foremost-McKesson Inc. It then became McKessonHBOC and eventually was renamed McKesson Technology Solutions.
It Sets Records
The CEO and Chairman of McKesson went on record in 2013 as the owner of the largest pension in corporate America. John Hammergren’s pension was valued at $159 million in terms of benefits and cash value. The average Fortune 500 CEO has a pension around $11.5 million.
McKesson has a Big Customer Base
The pharmaceutical company has one of the largest customer bases in the country. Nearly 77 percent of all health systems that boast more than 200 patient beds use the company. Additionally, 50 percent of all health industries do some form of business with the company. Finally, a quarter of all physicians use the company.
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