When encountering a reference to the "Big Four" one
used undeniably to think of the biggest four accounting firms in
the world.
Recently, though, it might be necessary to check the context, as
the reference could perfectly be made to the 4 largest
"tech" companies in the world (Facebook, Google, Apple
and Amazon).
However, are these latest "Big Four" only
"tech" companies? Bankers and car-makers may not agree.
Facebook is entitling users to make payments through its messenger
service, Apple introduced Apple Pay, Google invested in
sector-disruptive Uber and - like Apple - is investing heavily in
self-driving cars. This, though, seems to be only the tip of the
iceberg.
Indeed, as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen already forecasted
in 2011, "software is eating the world" or, at least,
that seems to be what investors think: in July 2016, for the very
first time in history, the 5 largest world companies by market
capitalization were all "tech" companies:
