In 2012, P&G recorded $83.68 billion dollars in sales. Fortune magazine awarded P&G a top spot on its list of "Global Top Companies for Leaders", and ranked the company at fifth place of the "World's Most Admired Companies" list. Chief Executive Magazine named P&G the best overall company for leadership development in its list of the "40 Best Companies for Leaders.
History
William Procter, a candle maker, and James Gamble, a soap maker, emigrated from England and Ireland respectively. They settled in Cincinnati initially and met when they married sisters, Olivia and Elizabeth Norris. Alexander Norris, their father-in-law, called a meeting in which he persuaded his new sons-in-law to become business partners. On October 31, 1837, as a result of the suggestion, Procter & Gamble was created.
In 1858–1859, sales reached $1 million. By this point, approximately 80 employees worked for Procter & Gamble. During the American Civil War, the company won contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles. In addition to the increased profits experienced during the war, the military contracts introduced soldiers from all over the country to Procter & Gamble's products.
In the 1880s, Procter & Gamble began to market a new product, an inexpensive soap that floats in water. The company called the soap Ivory. William Arnett Procter, William Procter's grandson, began a profit-sharing program for the company's workforce in 1887. By giving the workers a stake in the company, he correctly assumed that they would be less likely to go on strike.
The company began to build factories in other locations in the United States